


Engine 12

by bethy_277



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Adoption, BAMF Tony Stark, Comfort, Firemen, Gen, Hurt, Irondad, Kid Peter Parker, Minor Character Death, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, The Fireman AU no one asked for, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump, firehouse, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-27 03:57:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20753969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethy_277/pseuds/bethy_277
Summary: Tony Stark is a 30something firefighter in New York City, when he saves 6 year old Peter Parker from a fire. The kid loses his parents in the fire, and for some reason, he takes a place in Tony's heart.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look, I started a new AU. This one came into my head and I just knew it had to be written, so I may have written some of it during work today...
> 
> I can't claim to really have any medical knowledge (my google search history is really odd right now), but I'm doing my best so if anything is really really off, please let me know!

“How was your date with Pepper last night?” The locker slammed next to Tony’s head and he looked up to see Scott standing there, grinning at him.  


“Don’t even.” Tony glared at Scott who just laughed at his dace. The date with his fiance Pepper had been completely derailed by Pepper’s boss calling in a favor even when Pepper was supposed to be off from her job. Scott’s girlfriend Hope knew Pepper’s boss pretty well so of course Scott would have known that the date went completely awry.  


“It didn’t go well?” Clint walked into the locker room and headed over to his own locker, throwing his bag into there and pulling off his t-shirt to grab the issued t-shirt that the whole engine wore under their uniforms. Tony pulled his own shirt off and threw it at the other man, who just laughed and walked out of the room.

“She didn’t even come back home until midnight.” Tony complained and Scott pulled off his own shirt.  


“From what Hope has told me, Brian is pretty demanding. You know Pepper could always quit being his PA.” Scott suggested and Tony shrugged.

“She likes it mostly and it pays well. Last night was really just a one-off. We’ll go out again at the end of shift.” Tony said as he shut his locker.

“So 24 hours from now?” Scott asked.

“Yes Scott. She’s scheduled to be off, and I’ll be off, so we’ll both be free. That’s generally when it’s a good time to go out on a date.” Tony said, sarcasm running through his voice.  


“Rude.” Scott threw over his shoulder as he exited the room, Tony followed closely behind him, as he threw on his jacket before zipping it up. It was drafty in the firehouse and with it being the end of January in New York City, it was cold. They were at the tail end of multiple days of -20 to -30 degrees outside, and a lot of their calls had been people dealing with the cold weather. The firehouse was an older building, and the heat didn’t work terribly well, despite their chief doing his best to get some repairs done in the building.

When Tony walked into the main area, Natasha and Sam were in the kitchen cooking breakfast. It was early morning and they all normally alternated between cooking meals, excluding Clint who couldn’t cook and had managed to nearly burn down the kitchen a few weeks prior, and promptly been banned from any cooking by Steve.  


The firehouse dog, Viz, was standing near to Natasha and hovered around, despite her repeatedly nudging him away gently with her foot.  


“Viz.” Wanda called out from where she was sitting near the ambulance that she and Natasha drove as the houses’ paramedics on the B shift that Tony was on. The dog looked up at her and she waved a treat at him, so he dashed over to her and away from the kitchen.  


“Food is up.” Sam called out and the kitchen was instantly swarmed with hungry firefighters and paramedics and one hopeful dog hopping around for scraps that were going to come to him. Tony joined the line and then sat down next to Steve with full plate.

“Hey Captain.” He greeted the man who was staring at reports in front of him.

“What are those?” Bucky asked as he sat down on the other side of them.  


“Reports from Chief Fury. He’s been working on the budget for repairs for all 3 shifts, and he gave myself, Captain Hill and Captain Carter these reports to take a look at. I don’t see much flexibility for repairs, but I have to take a deeper look before we all have a meeting.” Steve replied.  


Tony hummed and dug into his sausages instead, the only business he really knew was from anything Pepper told him from her job, and he didn’t always follow what she said to him.  


“Is that the only reason you’ll talk to Captain Carter?” Clint teased from the kitchen and Steve gave him a look.  


Tony was almost finished with his breakfast when the Chief walked into the room and everyone called out and greeted him. The Chief was a decorated firefighter, having lost an eye during a fire trying to save a group of firefighters who had been trapped in a house, and ultimately succeeding in saving their lives, one of those firefighters being Hope’s father, Hank.  


“Engine, you are on patrol today. It’s another cold one out there and there’s already been numerous reports today about people needing assistance. Paramedics, you’ll be here until a call goes out. Truck will be here soon and will also be doing patrol. It looks like today might be a busy day, keep your radios on and ears out.”  


“Alright, suit up boys. It’s cold out there.” Steve called out to the men and Tony headed to the gear up room to get his gear on. He pulled on the heavy pants, and tucked his feet into the fire boots, before pulling up the straps of the pants over his shoulders and pulling his jacket back over his t-shirt. The others all joined him in getting ready at various times, and before long they were all in the truck.

Scott was their driver and in the front next to Steve as they drove out of the station and out onto the streets. Tony’s jacket was hung up next to him along with his helmet and mask.  


“This is really when I hate New York.” Clint complained as he drew his jacket around himself further. Scott had the heat blasting in the truck but the truck was also on the old end and the wind was finding its way into the vehicle.  


“Fury has the trucks written into the reports.” Steve remarked from the front. “But it’s not priority #1 unfortunately.”  


“Engine 12.” The speaker came to life and Steve picked up the walkie that was attached to the dashboard.  


“Engine 12 here.” He replied to the dispatcher.

“Woman in distress at Main and Point, complaining of chest pains. You’re the closest truck. Paramedics are on their way.”  


“Affirmative. We are on our way.” Steve confirmed. “Warm gear on boys. ”  


Clint groaned slightly as Scott turned the sirens on and turned the truck onto a side street to head towards the residence the dispatcher had called out, where the woman was in distress. Tony grabbed his winter hat and gloves and threw them on, throwing the fire coat on over his fleece jacket. Scott pulled them up to the residence and a woman came running out to them, her jacket flying out behind her.

“It’s my aunt. She collapsed.” The woman called out and Tony jumped out of the truck. They were required to have CPR Certification to be firefighters but Tony was one of the most confident out of the team in CPR. The cold air bit at his face as he hurried into the house behind the woman and into the living room. Steve came in behind him as Tony knelt down next to the woman lying on the ground. Her eyes were open as she tracked Tony’s footsteps but she looked terrified and her chest was heaving.  


“Do you have aspirin? Is she allergic to aspirin?” Tony asked the woman standing behind him and she nodded that she did and that her aunt wasn’t allergic.

“Go get the aspirin.” Steve commanded her and she dashed into another room.  


“Hi there. What’s your name?” Tony asked the woman, stroking down her arm and putting his fingers onto her wrist to gauge her pulse.  


“Maura.” The woman got out and Tony nodded.

“Maura. I’m Tony. You’re going to be perfectly okay, alright? The paramedics are on their way and they’ll get you to the hospital. Your niece is getting aspirin and we’re going to have you chew on that, okay?” Tony assured Maura as her niece came rushing back into the room. She held out the aspirin to Tony who instructed Maura to open her mouth and put the aspirin on her tongue.

“Try and chew on that, and you’re going to be just fine.” Tony reassured Maura just as two paramedics rushed in, and he stepped back. The two paramedics got her on the stretcher and into the ambulance before driving her off to the hospital with her niece climbing in her own car to follow after the ambulance after shutting the door.  


“Have you and Pepper thought about kids?” Sam asked as they all climbed back into the truck. Tony got into his seat and pulled off the hat, gloves and the fire jacket before putting his belt back on. He looked over at Sam, who was sitting across from him.

“What?” He asked.  


“Have you and Pepper thought about kids?” Sam repeated.

“Why do you ask that?” He and Pepper had talked about kids, and how they both wanted them after they got married, but they hadn’t shared that decision with anyone yet. The main priority was the wedding that was being planned for the following spring. They had a spare room in their apartment but they weren’t planning on filling it up for a little while yet. They were only in their mid-30s so they had time.  


“You are one of the most nurturing men I have ever met.” Sam explained. “I think you’d be a great father.”

“That is one of the most un-sarcastic things I have ever heard you say.” Clint piped up from the other seat. “And that’s coming from me.”

“I do agree with that comment Tony. Knowing you and knowing Pepper, you would be great parents.” Steve turned around in his seat to look into the backseat. Tony squirmed under all of the scrutiny.  


“Okay, can we move on please?” He asked quickly.

“Did you all hear about Tony & Pepper’s date last night?” Scott piped up from the front seat and Tony groaned.

“I didn’t mean move onto that Scott!”  


The men in the truck all laughed as Tony protested.  


“Engine 12.” The dispatcher called out through the radio and Steve picked up the radio again.

“Engine 12 here.”

“Fire reported at 12 Streeter Street. Reports are there’s a family there that hasn’t come out of the house.”  


“On our way.” Scott turned on the sirens again and stepped on the gas to get the fire truck going faster. Tony pulled his jacket back on, along with his head gear and then the helmet. He pulled on the gloves and then got his mask ready for entering a fire.  


If the house was already on fire, they were on limited time. He made sure that his radio was working, and his alarm was set. He looked out his window and after a few moments could see the smoke in the distance. Scott soared them through traffic light after traffic light before pulling up to the house.  


Tony jumped out of the truck to see the house burning and smoke up in the air. The others all jumped out, securing their helmets on their heads as they looked at the fire. A man ran over to them, frantically pointing at the house.

“The family is all in there. We heard them calling out, and now there’s been nothing from them. You have to help them. I couldn’t get in there.” He cried out and Steve put a hand on his shoulder.

“We will. How many people are in there?”  


“It’s Mary and Richard Parker and their son Peter. He’s only 6.” The man replied. “Please. You have to get in there.”  


“Engine 12 to Dispatch.” Steve called into his radio.

“Go ahead Engine 12.”

“Is there anyone else on their way to this fire at Streeter?”  


“Another truck is in route. ETA is 5 minutes. Chief Fury will be on scene shortly.”  


“Okay.” Steve turned to the team. “We don’t have 5 minutes. Tony, Bucky, Scott- you’re inside with me. Sam, Clint- get water on this fire. Call out if you find anyone. Sam, Clint- keep an eye on the smoke. If it changes color, you let us know.”  


Tony fitted his mask onto his face, as he followed Steve into the house through the front door. The smoke was immediately upon them, clouding the room, the dark only lit up by the fire that was roaring.

“Tony, Scott- upstairs. Be careful.” Steve yelled and the two men nodded. Tony took the stairs first, Scott behind him.

“FIRE DEPARTMENT. Call out. MARY. RICHARD. PETER.” Tony yelled as he ascended the stairs. There was no sign of anyone, just the smoke and fire.  


“CALL OUT!” Scott yelled behind him as they reached the top of the stairs.  


“Go that way.” Tony pointed down the hallway to Scott and the man nodded, heading the opposite direction of Tony. Tony headed down the hallway until he found a bedroom, heading straight in. He could hardly see through the smoke but he could see a small bed, knowing instantly that this was the kids’ room.  


“PETER. Call out kid. I’m a firefighter.” Tony knelt closer to the ground, looking around the room to try to find the child.  


His light on his helmet was on, illuminating the room slightly where it hit. He walked further into the room and finally laid eyes on a small body. He rushed over to see the child lying on his stomach, and reached over to roll him over. The boys’ eyes were closed and his face was sooty. Tony put his hand on his chest, and didn’t feel the chest moving.  


“Come on kid.” He pushed down on the kids’ chest trying to get a reaction, before running his knuckles down his sternum. There was zero response from the child and he quickly knelt down to get the little child into his arms.

“Peter located. On my way out.” He called into the radio as he headed back out of the room. The fire was roaring further down the hallway, and it was incredibly warm. Scott met him at the stairs, a shake of his head letting him know he hadn’t found anyone.

When they were halfway down the stairs, Tony pulled off his helmet with his free hand and then ripped the mask off of his face and stuck it over Peter’s before putting his helmet back on. He knew it was dangerous and he would be yelled at for it, but he didn’t think the kid was breathing and he couldn’t wait to get outside before he got oxygen onto him. The mask slotted over the tiny face, and Tony gasped as the smoke hit his throat.  


“Tony!” Scott yelled next to him but Tony shook his head and they continued to the door. As they headed out of the house, Tony took a deep breath as the clean air hit him. His throat constricted and he started coughing. Scott pulled his own mask off next to him, and gave Tony a look.  


“He’s not breathing, okay?” Tony gasped out between coughs and hurried towards where Natasha and Wanda were waiting. He set Peter down on the stretcher and Natasha pulled off the mask, before handing it to Tony. She pulled out a stethoscope and placed it over Peter’s small chest, trying to find something.

“Anything?” Tony asked. The boy was so small under Natasha’s hands, his face completely slack.

“Start compressions.” Natasha commanded Wanda who quickly put her hands on Peter’s chest. She pushed down and started counting as Natasha opened Peter’s mouth. Scott handed Tony a bottle of water and he opened it to start gulping the water down.  


“Come on kid.” He called out to Peter as Wanda and Natasha alternated compressions and breathing for Peter. “Come on.”  


“Parents located. On our way out.” Steve’s voice came over the radio and a few moments later, the three were out with the two adults. Other paramedics rushed over to them to assist, but Tony kept his eyes on the tiny figure in front of him as Natasha and Wanda tried to get him breathing again.

“Come on kid.” He called out again, willing the kid to take a breath. The boy was so tiny and Tony didn’t even want to think about losing him.  


He was rewarded a moment later when the boys’ chest finally expanded and he took a breath followed by another one. His eyes opened a moment later and Tony saw they were a soft brown, just like his hair. Tony was up on his feet, and next to the stretcher before he even knew what he was doing.

He grabbed onto the tiny hand closest to him and the boy stared at him, before dissolving into a massive coughing attack. Natasha put an oxygen mask on him, but it didn’t help him very much.  


“He has asthma.” The same man came over to them. “It can get pretty bad.”

“Okay, we’re going now.” Natasha decided. Tony nodded and tried to let go of Peter’s hand, but the little boy clung to him. He tried again but Peter wouldn’t let go of him as Natasha tried to pull the stretcher into the ambulance.

“Just come with us.” Natasha said and Tony looked around for Steve who was on his way over.

“Go ahead. The parents’ didn’t make it. We’ll come meet you at the hospital after we’re done here.” Steve said quietly and Tony nodded. As Natasha and Wanda pushed the stretcher into the back of the ambulance, Tony climbed in with them, the tiny hand still clinging to his as Peter continued coughing.  


Wanda shut the doors and a moment later Tony felt the ambulance tear away from the scene and head towards the hospital, siren blaring.

He took his helmet off, and unzipped his jacket with his free hand before looking back down at Peter. The brown eyes were staring at him and Tony felt his heart constrict. This tiny boy had just lost his parents even though he didn’t know that yet, and he was in the middle of a horrible asthma attack after being woken up from not breathing.  


“Hi kid. You’re going to be okay. I’m Tony, and we’re going to the hospital alright?”  


Peter tried to reach up to remove the mask and Tony caught his other hand.  


“It’s okay. That’s helping you, just let it help okay?”

Peter scrunched his eyes shut as he coughed, the action causing his whole body to shake on the gurney. Natasha was moving around the ambulance, doing something over Tony but he didn’t focus on her. He was focused on Peter, so he noticed the instant the boys’ grip in his hand relaxed.

“Peter.” He called out and didn’t get a response. “Peter.”  


The boy remained still under Tony. He quickly adjusted his fingers so he could feel Peter’s pulse. It was there but very faint, thready and jumpy.

“Nat!” He called out and she was there. She pulled the mask off of Peter’s face, and then was tilting the boys’ head back and shoving a tube down his throat. She attached a plastic item to it and thrust it into Tony’s hands.  


“Push that like a heartbeat. That’s getting air into his lungs.” She instructed before calling out to Wanda. Tony nodded and started squeezing the plastic pump, trying to get the air into Peter’s lungs.  


He continued pumping until the ambulance stopped and then Nat was pushing out the doors and the stretcher was being rolled. Doctors surrounded the stretcher and someone was taking over from Tony, pulling the pump out from his hands and he was left standing in the hallway as Peter disappeared. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there before Natasha shoved at his shoulder and he blinked to see her standing there.

“What?”

“I said, are you okay? I know you took your mask off inside there.” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It wasn’t that long.”  


“Do you want a ride back to the station with us? We’re heading back now.” 

“I’ll wait for the engine. I want to wait and see how Peter is doing.” Tony replied. He looked around for some chairs to sit down at and found some just a few steps away.

“You know they can’t tell you anything Tony. You aren’t related to him.” Natasha responded.  


“His parents died Nat. There isn’t anyone related to him, he’s alone.” Tony argued. He always had a soft spot for the kids, but for some reason Peter was really getting to him.  


“He could have other family members, just because his parents are gone, that doesn’t leave him alone.” Natasha replied and Tony knew she was right. He couldn’t just leave Peter alone at the hospital though, that didn’t feel right to him.

“I’ll wait for the engine.” Tony repeated and Natasha nodded before she stepped away. Wanda came from the other end of the hall to meet her.  


“You might not get to know how the kid is Tony. And if you do, you might not like the outcome. Just keep that in mind.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm.... remember me randomly mentioning that neighbor... not just a neighbor.
> 
> Some more characters mentioned/introduced in this chapter. There's one major character that I'm still having a hard time trying to fit in here, but I refuse to leave him out, so he'll show up eventually. I'm sure some of you will figure out who I'm talking about. 
> 
> The response to the first chapter was lovely, so I hope you all continue enjoying it. :)
> 
> Also, I had some issues with formatting, so apologies if the formatting looks weird at parts and if there is some too large spacing.

Tony wasn’t sure how long he sat there for, watching people rush around the ER and in and out of rooms before he heard Steve’s voice.   


“Tony?” Steve called out and Tony looked up to see Steve and Bucky walking towards him. They both had their fire pants on, but only their fleece jackets on the top half. Tony could see a third person walking behind them, and when they stopped, Tony could see it was the neighbor from the scene.

“Tony, this is Mr.Odinson.” Bucky introduced and the blond man stuck out his hand.

“Thor.”

“Thor?” Tony repeated as he put out his own hand to shake the man’s hand.

“My parents liked Mythology and never let me change it.” Thor shrugged as he shook Tony’s hand and then dropped it. “And my girlfriend likes it.”

“Have you heard anything about Peter?” Steve asked and Tony turned his head from Thor to look at his captain.

  
“I’ve just been sitting here. He had an asthma attack and passed out in the ambulance, and then stopped breathing again.” Tony explained. He looked down at his watch, surprised to see that over 3 hours had passed.

“I’m asking.” Thor marched over to the nearest nurse who had her back to them, and the three firefighters followed suit.

“Excuse me?” Thor called out and the nurse turned around.

  
“Hope.” Tony greeted when he saw it was Scott’s girlfriend, Hope. Her friendly expression immediately morphed into concern when she saw the firefighters.

  
“Everyone okay?”She asked and Steve immediately nodded.

  
“The others are at the firehouse. We just came to pick up Tony.” 

  
Hope immediately turned to Tony and gave him a once over. “Are you hurt? Don’t lie to me or i’ll tell Pepper.”

  
“I’m not” Tony reassured. “I actually came in with a patient from a fire.”

Hope gave Tony another look but he smiled and she nodded.

  
“We were actually wondering if you might be able to tell us how the child is doing?” Thor asked and Hope glanced back over to him.

“Are you family?” She asked and Thor shook his head.   


“I’m a neighbor but I know the family.”

“I’m really sorry, but if you aren’t family then I legally can’t give you any information.” Hope responded.

Tony opened his mouth to argue but Steve beat him to it.

“Hope, he just lost his parents. The kid’s only 6 years old. Bucky and I pulled the parents out and they didn’t make it. There’s no one here for him, and he’s only a young child.”

“Can you at least tell us if he’s living?” Thor begged and Hope sighed.   


“I could get into some serious trouble for this.” She turned around to one of the computers, and Tony took a deep breath. Steve put a hand on his shoulder and gripped. They weren’t supposed to get attached to anyone that they helped, but something about this child had already taken over Tony. 

  
“What was his last name?” Hope asked.

“Parker.” Thor replied, and Hope hit some more keys on the keyboard. The four men stood in tense silence, waiting on Hope’s answer.

  
“Okay, I can tell you that he is alive.” Hope turned back around and Tony let out a huge sigh of relief.

  
“How is he?” Thor asked and Hope shook her head.    


“I can’t tell you any more than that.”   


“Okay. At least the child is alive.” Thor took a deep breath. “That’s good. That’s good.”

  
“Hope, he doesn’t have anyone-” Tony started and Hope cut him off.

  
“It actually looks like there is an aunt and uncle with an address in California, so it looks like there is family.” Hope’s finger trailed down the screen before she turned back to the men assembled. “There’s also someone with the name of Thor Odinson.”

“I am Thor Odinson.” Thor said.

“It looks like you are on Peter’s file as a contact.” Hope replied. “It looks like it was added on Peter’s last hospital stay.”

  
Tony turned his head to see Thor looking shocked.

“I am?” He asked.

“It looks like the aunt and uncle are on for the main decisions, but you are someone who can make immediate decisions. Let me call the doctor so he can give you information.” Hope picked up one of the phones, and then her voice came over the intercom.

  
“Dr Banner, please come to the nurses desk in the ER. Dr Banner.” Hope put the phone down and then at the men. 

  
“Bruce is looking after Peter?” Tony asked.    


They all knew the doctor from when they had been in a dangerous fire the year before, and the doctor had saved Steve’s life after he had received a terrible head injury. Steve had been out of the firehouse for four months recovering after Bruce had saved him.

  
“Hope?” The doctor exited out of one of the elevators and headed over to them. He was looking down at his ipad in his hands, and didn’t look up until he reached the desk. 

  
“Dr Banner.” Steve greeted and the doctor looked up, and smiled when he saw Steve.   
“Steve. Good to see you.” Bruce put the Ipad down and shook Steve’s hand.

  
“Tony, Bucky, good to see you both.” Bruce greeted them before looking over at Thor.

  
“This is Mr Odinson. He’s listed on Peter Parker’s documentation as someone who can make medical decisions for Peter.” Hope explained and Bruce nodded.

“Can we go sit down, and I can discuss Peter with you?” Bruce asked and Thor nodded.   
“Can the firefighters come?”

  
“That is up to you- you are the one who is making the decisions until we can get a hold of the aunt and uncle.” Bruce replied.    


“Tony, you go. Bucky and I can wait here. We’ll let you know if we get a call.” Steve motioned to the plastic chairs that Tony had been sitting in. Tony handed Steve his helmet and then followed Bruce and Thor down the hallway into a side room, where Bruce held the door open for them to walk into before letting the door shut again

.    
“Did you know you were put on Peter’s records?” Tony asked Thor and the man shook his head.    


“I had no idea. I know-knew- the Parkers and i’ve looked after Peter before but I didn’t know they added me. I brought him to the hospital the last time he had an asthma attack and they must have added me then. They certainly did not tell me.” Thor sat down on one of the chairs in the room. “I do care for Peter greatly.”

  
“Hope said the relatives were in California. They must have wanted a more local person on there.” Tony wondered and Thor shrugged.

  
“Mr Odinson.” Bruce started and Thor interrupted him. 

  
“Thor please.”

“Thor.” Bruce nodded. “So let me lay this out for you. We are attempting to get a hold of the Parkers in California, but until then, here’s what is happening with Peter. He had inhaled a great amount of smoke, and then had a severe asthma attack. These two events put a lot of strain on his heart and his lungs. He is currently in the ICU in a medically induced coma, and on a ventilator to help reduce some of the strain. We plan to keep him in the coma for at least the next 48 hours, and then we will slowly wean him out of the coma and off the ventilator to get him breathing on his own again.” Bruce paused for a moment to look at Thor and then Tony.   


“Depending on his breathing, he may remain intubated after that until we feel comfortable with him breathing on his own.”

  
Tony’s head was spinning as Bruce looked at him.

  
“Did you pull him out? You aren’t normally here with patients. The paramedics normally drop patients off and then head out.”    


“I did I found him in his bedroom and he didn’t want to let me go. Bruce, he’s only 6 years old.” Tony explained. “He was so scared in the ambulance.”

  
“He’ll be okay Tony. It’s not great right now and he has a bit of a recovery ahead of him, but you saved him and now he just needs some time to start that recovery.” Bruce replied.    
“The poor child lost his parents.” Thor spoke up.

  
“He doesn’t know that yet. He wasn’t awake before we placed him into the coma.” Bruce responded.

  
“Can I see him?” Thor asked and Bruce nodded.

  
“Can I come?” Tony asked. He didn’t know what possessed him but the question still came out of his mouth.

  
Bruce sighed heavily but nodded. 

  
“Only because Thor is here. You wouldn’t be allowed otherwise Tony. And when we do get a hold of the relatives, it will be up to their discretion.”

  
Thor and Tony followed Bruce out of the room, and down the hallway. The trio walked down and through doors that were labeled as the ICU. Bruce eventually stopped in front of a door and opened the sliding door to usher them through. 

  
Peter was lying on the bed, looking completely dwarfed by the hospital bed. His eyes were closed and the tube going into his mouth took over half of his tiny face. His small chest rose up and down with the ventilator.

  
“He looks so tiny.” Thor voiced Tony’s thoughts. He then turned to Tony and unexpectedly threw his arms around him.

  
“What?” Tony asked breathlessly and Thor pulled away before turning back to Peter. Bruce just smiled at Tony, looking amused at Thor’s exuberance. 

  
“You saved young Peter’s life Tony. I am very sad at the loss of his parents, but Peter is still here because of your actions.”

  
“I wouldn’t say it was just me Thor. I got him out, but Wanda and Natasha got his heart going again, and then the doctors here kept him alive.” Thor protested. “I just carried him out.”

  
“You were the one who found him.” Thor disputed. “No one could have helped him if it weren’t for you.” 

  
“Tony!” Steve’s voice carried down the hall and he stuck his head out of the room to see his captain standing at the end of the hall, Tony’s helmet still in his hands. “We got a call!”

  
Tony nodded and ducked quickly back into the room. He scanned the room quickly and grabbed a paper gown before snatching Bruce’s pen. He quickly wrote his number down and pushed it at Thor. 

  
“Keep me updated?” 

  
Thor nodded and Tony took one last look at the tiny 6-year-old before exiting the room. He rushed down the hallway to where Steve was waiting, half-expecting the man to scold him. Instead, Steve just looked at Tony as they headed out of the hospital to Bucky’s truck. Hope waved from the desk as they headed out of the ER doors.

  
“How is he?” Bucky asked as the three of them climbed into the car and headed out of the lot. Steve handed Tony his helmet and he stuck it on his head. 

  
“Not great, but Bruce says he’ll be okay.” Tony replied.

  
“Clint thinks we should get him some toys.” Steve said as he turned the sirens on the pickup truck on, and Bucky went through a red light. 

  
“What?” Tony asked distractedly. He looked up from where he was zipping up the fire jacket.

  
“Clint. He thinks we should buy the kid some toys since he clearly doesn’t have any now” Steve repeated.

  
“I’ll text Pepper and ask her to get what she thinks a 6-year-old might like and bring them to the house.” Tony went to grab for his phone and realized it was still on his seat in the firetruck.

  
“I’ll text her after this call.” He decided.

  
“Speaking of the call, are you going to be okay for this call?” Steve asked. He turned in his seat to look at Tony who nodded.

  
“I’m good.” Tony replied and Steve just gave him a look.

  
“If I don’t think you are, i’m pulling you out.” Steve told him and Tony nodded again. He generally chose not to disagree with Steve when he had his captain voice on.

Bucky stopped the truck a few moments later and the three men piled out. Scott came over to them, shaking his head.

“Already out, just a small dumpster fire. Sam took command.”   


Steve nodded, he had promoted Sam to Lieutenant after the accident, to take command in case Steve was ever not capable or around in the future.

“Fury’s pissed you weren’t here though.” Scott warned as his eyes flickered over to Tony.

“I’ll talk to him when we get back.” Steve said. “Are we good to leave?”

Scott nodded and looked back over to Steve.

“Tony, we’ll get back on the fire truck. Bucky, you drive back but keep the radio on just in case.” Steve instructed and Tony headed over to the truck.

He hung his helmet next to the seat and grabbed his phone to text Pepper, it was nearing the time that she was supposed to leave her office. He mentioned the kids’ name and toys, and Pepper responded that she would get some and bring them by.

Her lack of questioning was one of the many reasons Tony loved her as much as he did.

The rest of the firefighters joined Tony and they headed back to the House. His phone buzzed on the way and he looked down, expecting to see a text from Pepper but it was an unknown number. He opened it to see that it was Thor sharing his number. He quickly shot a text back and saved the number 

-

“Hey honey.” Tony glanced up from the book he was reading to see Pepper walking towards him, her heels clicking slightly as she walked along. She set her purse down on the table and then sat next to Tony, pulling a bag off her shoulder as she did so. He could see it was from the toy store closest to where she worked.

“Happy helped me get some things Ned likes.” Pepper’s co-worker had a 7 year old nephew who Tony had met, and thought was a sweet kid.

“Toys?” Clint and Scott both hustled over and sat down in other chairs around the table. Clint turned the bag upside down and emptied the contents all over the table.   


Tony saw toy cars, legos, stuffed animals and noise putty all fall out. He picked up that last item and raised his eyebrows over at Pepper who smiled.

“Ned loves that, and Peter is a boy after all. Happy also gave me some of Ned’s clothes he had in his car ready to donate. I don’t know how big or small Peter is, but he isn’t going to want to stay in a hospital gown for forever. They are in my car.” Pepper explained and Tony leaned over to give her a kiss. Pepper grinned against his lips and he broke away from her.

“Okay fellas, pay up for Pepper getting these toys.” Steve called out from across the room and soon there was a small pile of cash in front of her. She thanked everyone before tucking it away, and turning to Tony.

“Now, tell me about Peter.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there'll be some more Peter and Tony interaction next chapter, and the plot shall progress more. :)
> 
> And i do my best with the medical things, but if there is anything that isn't correct, please please let me know!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be working on Whumptober but I wrote this instead... at work.

> “Clint, get your ass up that ladder.” Steve called out to the man who was sitting on the ground in his gear and playing with his phone. “We’re supposed to be training.”

“Laura just told me that Lila pushed a boy into the dirt, and she has to go pick her up from school.” Clint replied back and Tony smirked. Clint’s 4 year old was a tough little thing who constantly got into trouble, mostly with pushing people. 

“Again?” Scott called out. 

“When was the last time?” Bucky asked.

“Two days ago. I think we’re having a talk with her brother very soon.” Clint replied.

“Get up that ladder.” Steve repeated and Clint rolled his eyes at him. “I saw that.”

“Come on Cap. We’re almost done with shift.” Clint grumbled at Steve who merely shoved him towards the door as Clint set his phone on the table. 

Tony and Bucky laughed from where they were sitting at the table.

It was incredibly cold outside but Steve was still making them do their training drills, and they were all bundled up in their gear in the drafty firehouse. They were almost at the end of their shift, and Scott was sitting opposite them playing with the toy cars, and pushing them up and down the table. He had adamantly refused when Steve tried to get him on the ladder. Steve hadn’t pushed it, but they all knew that Steve would find a way to get back at Scott in some way.

“Sam, you’re out there with Clint.” Steve instructed, and Sam groaned from where he was playing with Viz. The dalmation had a squeaky toy that he was absolutely obsessed with, and when he wasn’t sleeping, he ran around the firehouse with his toy trying to convince someone to play with him. Viz technically belonged to the Chief but everyone looked after him. 

“Get out there.” Steve instructed and the other two firefighters headed out the door with Steve following after them. 

The door slammed shut behind him and a wave of frigid air tore through the firehouse. Tony shivered even with his warm gear on, and Scott pulled his hands from the toys to blow on them to try to warm them up. 

“This is getting worse.” Scott commented, and Tony and Bucky nodded. 

“Fury’s working on it. Hopefully he uses his influence sooner rather than later.” Tony replied dryly. 

He glanced down and pushed back his sleeve to look at his watch. They only had an hour left on shift, and he wanted more information on Peter. Pepper had left a little while ago after bringing in the clothes for Peter from her car. 

“Any news on the kid?” Bucky asked and Tony shook his head. 

His phone was next to him on the table and besides Pepper texting him, he hadn’t heard anything. He was also waiting to hear from his best friend who was supposed to be on a break from his job in the Air Force. Tony hadn’t seen James in almost 5 months and he missed his best friend of 15 years. They had met in high school, gone through college together and then gone their separate job ways, but still remained friends and saw each other whenever James was back in New York. 

“Are you going to see him?” Scott asked as he started playing with the cars again.

“I’m planning on it.” Tony replied. 

He didn’t know if he would be allowed to see Peter again, but he wanted to at least drop the toys and clothes off for the 6 year old. 

He could tell that the clothes would swamp Peter just a little bit, as the kid was extremely tiny, but he could at least get out of the hospital gown, and in some clothes. Happy had driven by the house just before Pepper had left, and dropped off some socks and undergarments for the kid that he had gone out and brought and Tony had been touched by the mans’ kindness. He had told them that Ned knew about Peter and had wanted to give the 6 year old some of his own toys.

He knew that Peter would still be in the coma for at least another day to try to help his lungs but he still wanted to get the items dropped off at the hospital. 

“I’m picking up Hope from work, so I'm heading there after shift too. I want to see the kid too.” Scott said. 

“You realize you probably won’t right?” Bucky asked. “You aren’t his family Scott.” 

Tony’s phone buzzed on the table and he quickly looked down to see a text from Thor. He unlocked his phone, and opened the text.

_   
_ _ Thor 9:30am Wanted to give you an update, no change in Peter yet. The doctor says they are still planning on another day and a half in the coma at least. _

_ Tony 9:31am Okay thank you for the update. I'm coming after shift to see him. We got him some toys and clothes. _

_ Thor 9:32 That sounds most wonderful.  _

“The kid?” Sam asked as Tony put his phone back down on the table. 

“No change.” Tony replied and sighed. 

“That’s not a bad thing Tony.” Sam reassured him and Tony nodded. He reminded himself that Sam was trained as an army medic and knew what he was talking about. “No change means he’s not going backwards.”

“I know, I do.” Tony replied. 

He was torn inside. He wanted the kid to be awake but if the kid was awake, he would know that his parents were gone and he didn’t want the kid to deal with that kind of pain. A 6 year old didn’t deserve to have lost his parents and at least while he was in the coma, he wasn’t aware of that fact. 

Tony looked around just to see Clint, Steve and Sam walk back into the house. Their faces were all pink with cold, and they were all breathing heavily. Viz rushed over to all three of them with his squeaky toy and Sam leaned down to grab the toy and throw it for the dalmation. Viz raced across the floor in delight after the toy before rushing back to the table.

“Are we all done with the training now? It’s freezing out there.” Clint grumbled as he picked up his own phone from the table. He grimaced and Tony assumed it was something to do with Lila. 

“She’s a menace.” Clint grumbled and Bucky laughed. 

“She’s a copy of you.” 

“Not a good thing.” Clint replied. “But are we done with training? I need to go shower and warm up.” 

“Yes we’re done.” Steve replied. He pulled off his own jacket and then sat down opposite from Tony and Scott. He rubbed his hands together to try to warm them up from the cold as Clint headed off towards the showers. 

-

“I’m really glad that we were able to do this.” Tony smiled at Pepper as they dug into their meals. It had been two days since the fire and Tony was anxiously waiting for the text from Thor that Peter was awake. He knew that they were planning on bringing Peter out of the coma and hopefully taking him off the ventilator if his lungs allowed it. 

“Even though you’re distracted?” Pepper teased him. They were finally on their date after the last one had been interrupted and both of them were free.

“I’m sorry Pep.” Tony answered. He knew he kept glancing at his phone and that she would have been blind not to see.

“It’s okay. I know this kid means a lot to you.” 

Tony nodded. When he and Scott had dropped by with the toys and clothes, Peter had still been unconscious with the ventilator still breathing for him, still looking completely tiny in the hospital bed. 

Thor had taken the toys and clothes from him and thanked him profusely. He had taken the penguin from the bag and put it on the bed with Peter, moving one of the thin arms around the penguin so it was tucked into Peter’s side. Thor had informed Tony that Peter’s favorite animal was a spider and he had made a mental note to get the kid a stuffed spider, even if Tony hated them. He shoved a few mouthfuls of pasta down his throat and then startled as his phone buzzed. 

Pepper smiled as he grabbed at it and unlocked it to see a text from Thor.

_ Thor 6:30pm He is awake. _ _ _

“He’s awake!” Tony said happily and Pepper smiled. 

_ Tony 6:31pm That’s great to hear! Is he okay? _

_ Thor 6:31pm Very tired and having some lung issues, but okay otherwise. He hasn’t been told about his parents yet. _

_ Tony 6:32pm How badly are his lungs damaged? _

_ Thor 6:33pm They did a scan and they aren’t as bad as they expected but still not very well. They do have him on oxygen for now to help him out but he is breathing on his own. _

“Well?” Tony glanced up to see Pepper looking at him expectedly. “Is he okay?”

“Sounds like it. They have him on oxygen but his lungs aren’t as badly damaged as they thought they might be.” Tony couldn’t help grinning as he answered Pepper’s question. He was so relieved to hear that the kid was awake, and mostly okay. 

_ Thor 6:37pm Peter is asking for the firefighter. He means you. _

_ Tony 6:37pm He wants to see me? _

_ Thor 6:38pm He does. He keeps asking for the man who saved from the fire. You should come to the hospital. They still haven’t been able to get a hold of his aunt and uncle. _

_ Tony 6:39pm I was going to come see him later. _

_ Thor 6:39pm Oh good. He’s being a bit fussy. _

_ Tony 6:40pm Fussy? _

_ Thor 6:40pm Yes, fussy.  _

_ Tony 6:42pm I’m with Pepper right now but i’ll come by soon. _

_ Thor 6: 42pm Text me when you get here, and I’ll come and meet you. _

“He sounds okay. Was asking for me.” Tony replied. “Or rather the fireman who saved him.”

“Does he know about his parents?” Pepper asked. “Has anyone told him?”

“Not yet.” Tony replied. “It sounds like he knows the fire burned down his house but I don’t think he knows about his parents yet. I’m going once we’re done here, if that’s okay? I won’t be there for long, i’ll come back to the apartment soon.”

“Spend as long as you need honey. Just don’t wake me up when you come in like last time.” Pepper teased him and Tony laughed. Pepper was not a fan of being woken up by Tony, and had made that quite clear the last time he had done it. 

-

“Hope.” Tony called out as he entered the hospital. The woman was standing near the nurses’ desk and she turned around at her name. She gave Tony a wave and he responded before he turned away to see Thor striding down the hallway towards him.

“Tony!” Thor boomed out as he reached Tony. 

“How’s he doing?” Tony asked and Thor nodded.

“He is okay. They are thinking about telling him about his parents shortly. He has asked for them a few times now.” Thor replied. “He’s asked for you a few times too.”

“Come.” Thor motioned with his head down the hallway and after another wave to Hope, Tony followed him down. He recognized the same walk from earlier as they headed into the ICU.

“He’s still in here?” Tony asked as they reached the same room.

“He should hopefully be moved out soon, but they are concerned about his lungs still.” Thor replied as he pulled open the door to Peter’s room. Tony stepped forward and into the room and was greeted by soft brown eyes looking at him.

Peter’s eyes followed him as he walked over to the bed and Tony got a first glance at him. An oxygen mask covered most of Peter’s face and his eyes looked tired. The parts of his face that Tony could see were red and looked quite dry. Tony could see that he was wearing a t-shirt and not the hospital gown but the blankets were covering his legs. 

A tiny hand grabbed onto Tony’s fingers and he glanced down to see Peter’s hand latched onto three of his fingers. He took his other hand and gently peeled Peter’s fingers off until he could grab onto his hand properly. Peter gripped his hand tightly as he sat down. 

“Peter, do you remember Tony? He’s the firefighter.” Thor asked and Peter nodded. His little hand squeezed Tony’s even tighter and Tony smiled slightly at him.

Peter took his other hand to try to pull the mask off his face and Thor stopped him. 

“No child. You know you have to keep that on.” 

Peter leaned over slightly from Tony and lifted up the stuffed penguin to show Tony. He smiled at the toy and Peter’s obvious delight. 

“You like the penguin don’t you?” Thor asked and Peter nodded.

He tried to talk but was muffled by the mask. He tried to put his hand up to move the mask away and Thor grabbed it again. Peter whined in disagreement and tried to pull his hand out of Thor’s, even as he let Tony continue to hold onto his other one. 

“Hi Peter.” Tony glanced up to see Bruce walk into the room along with one of the nurses. He noticed Tony and smiled at him sadly, and Tony instantly knew what Bruce was there to do. He instinctively tightened his grip on Peter’s hand and the 6 year old looked at him. 

“Peter.” Bruce called out and Peter looked back at him. “Can I talk to you?”

Peter nodded, and Tony took a deep breath. He glanced at Thor who looked as apprehensive as Tony felt. He felt like he shouldn’t be in the room for this as he wasn’t family or even a friend to the family, but Peter didn’t seem to want to let him go.

“Peter, we have something to tell you.” Bruce said softly as he put a hand on the top of Peter’s leg. They were covered by blankets and Bruce’s hand rested on the top of them. Tony saw Peter’s eyes turn fearful and frightened. “Thor?”

Thor nodded and Tony looked at him, surprised. It made sense that the news would come from Thor though, instead of the news.

“Peter, I’m very sorry to tell you that your parents didn’t survive the fire.” Thor said quickly and Peter’s face changed as he comprehended what Thor said. 

He ripped his hand out of Tony’s and started scrabbling at the oxygen mask. Before Tony, Thor, Bruce or the nurse could respond, he ripped the mask off and started gasping. Sobs erupted from his chest and the tears started streaming down his cheeks. His legs started kicking on the bed, dislodging Bruce’s hand and his arms were flailing around as he screamed. The penguin was thrown off the bed and onto the floor next to Tony.

“Kid.” Tony tried to reach out to grab one of Peter’s arms but ended up getting a punch in the cheek. Peter’s little fists didn’t hurt but it still surprised Tony and he jerked back. 

He leaned forward again after a moment and with Thor’s help, managed to get a good grip on the tiny wrists. Peter tried to keep slamming his head back onto the pillow and Thor stuck a large hand behind him to hold his head steady.

Peter started gasping but tossed his head from side to side when the nurse kept trying to get the mask back on his face. 

“Buddy. Peter, look at me.” Tony commanded and Peter stopped tossing his head to look at Tony. “Hi.” Tony said when he finally had eyes on his. “You need to put the mask back on.”

“No.” Peter rasped out and Tony grimaced. The kids’ voice sounded awful as he rasped out the words. “I want my mommy and daddy. I want them!’

“I know you do buddy. I know you do. I’m so sorry.” Tony replied. The kid just screamed and cried under him and Tony felt the tears come to his eyes. He had lost his parents like Peter, but he had been older than the child, and he had lost them in a car accident as opposed to a fire. 

“I want my mommy and daddy!!!” Peter screamed and Tony couldn’t take it anymore. 

He pushed back the twisted blankets from Peter, and then pulled at Peter until he was in his arms, his head resting against Tony’s chest. He could see that the child was indeed wearing one of Ned’s old t-shirts and a pair of soft shorts. He could feel his shirt getting wet and could feel the 6 year old heaving against him, taking gasping breaths. Peter’s hands had moved to grip onto one of Tony’s hands, and Tony wrapped his other arm around the tiny back. Peter continued to gasp under Tony as he rubbed his back.

“Pete, kiddo. You have to take a deep breath.” Tony tried to reassure him but Peter just continued to gasp and rasp into his chest.

“Mommy! Daddy!” He cried out. 

“I think we need to sedate him.” Bruce said softly from across the room. “I’m very concerned about his lungs and breathing right now. He’s not taking deep enough breaths. Thor?”

Tony glanced up to see Thor nod and then Bruce was next to him. He gently took one of Peter’s tiny arms and then stuck a needle into the crook of his elbow after cleaning the skin quickly. 

A few moments later Tony felt Peter start to slump against him, his crying tapering off as he became a heavy body against Tony’s chest. His hands that were clenched onto Tony’s went slack and he finally completely slumped against Tony. 

Tony waited a moment and then gently pulled Peter away from him, supporting his head. The boys’ face was slack, his eyes closed and red rimmed. Tony gently wiped at the wetness on Peter’s pale face and then took the mask that Bruce handed over to him. He put it over Peter’s head and placed it over Peter’s nose and mouth before firmly attaching it on the back of Peter’s head. He adjusted Peter until the boy was sitting on Tony’s lap with the back of his head resting on Tony’s chest with his face turned into Tony’s shoulder. 

“You should put him back on the bed.” Bruce suggested and Tony nodded.

He grabbed Peter around his middle to secure him and then moved closer towards the bed to lift Peter back into it. Thor pulled back the twisted blankets for Tony to place Peter down and then the two of them tucked them back around him. Tony arranged Peter’s head so that he was lying comfortably on the pillow and then pulled back from the bed. He reached down to grab the penguin from the floor to set it next to Peter and then sat back down.

“That could have gone better.” Bruce commented and Tony gave him a look.

“That’s an understatement.” 

“I haven’t seen a 6 year old have quite that violent of a reaction before.” Bruce replied. 

“Peter is quite advanced for his age. He’s very intelligent, and his parents had been in the middle of getting him tested. His mother was telling me the last time I looked after Peter that they had been advised to put him into the third grade already, but were sure that they were going to keep him with his own age children.” Thor piped up. “They didn’t want him with children who are that much older than him.” 

“We did finally get a hold of his aunt and uncle, but they are not able to get here until the end of the week. We plan on keeping him here until then, but move him out of the ICU tomorrow hopefully. If he continues to react like he just did, we might need to rethink that. I’m very concerned about his lungs and breathing as his vitals dropped considerably during that reaction.” Bruce explained. “I’m not sure if the mask will do enough. We can look at that when he wakes up.”

“When will that be?” Thor asked.

“The sedative should keep him asleep for a few hours. I’m hopeful that the mask will continue to supply enough oxygen but if it doesn’t, we might have to take more drastic measures.” Bruce said and both Tony and Thor frowned.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Thor said.

“I don’t either but you’re the one making the ultimate decisions. His aunt and uncle said you could continue to make any decisions until they get here.” Bruce replied.

“They did?” Thor asked sounding surprised.

“Yes.” Bruce nodded. “I didn’t say this as a doctor but as a person, and I don’t think they seem like the most l loving people in the world. His aunt seemed quite distracted when I spoke to her.” 

“Yeah. I never met them but Peter’s mother mentioned them once or twice. They hadn’t seen one another in many years.” 

Tony looked down at the tiny boy in the bed, heart clenching. He didn’t want the sweet little thing to go to people who might not give him the proper care and love that he deserved, but it wasn’t like he could do anything about it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote Peter’s reaction and then googled how 6 year olds normally react to grief/death. It’s not normally as violent as Peter’s, but I kept his how it was anyways. The rest of his grieving/actions will be more in line with a 6 year olds. 
> 
> Also, this wasn’t how this chapter was initially scheduled to go, but my brain decided it was going in this direction and I went with it.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so first off- yikes! I didn’t realize it had been a solid month since I last updated this...  
I got super busy and then focused on my whumptober which was fun but very time consuming. If anyone wants to read it, I tied all the prompts together in one story as if Peter snapped, but survived.
> 
> But anyways, here’s a new chapter and I promise it won’t be a month before I update this again.
> 
> Please comment and let me know what you think! It absolutely brings me so much joy when I get email notifications. :)

“I like Spiders.” 

“Yeah?”

“Uh huh. Did you know Spiders are nearsighted?” 

“I didn’t know that buddy.” 

“Yep.” Peter nodded emphatically as he leaned into Tony’s side. 

The two of them were lying on Peter’s hospital bed, the place that Tony had found himself over the past few days when he wasn’t on shift. Peter had been quiet those days, finally having opened up and chatting to Tony a few hours prior. In that time, Tony had learned that Peter had named his stuffed penguin Patrick, a name that he seemed very attached to but hadn’t really given a reason for, that he hadn’t ever left New York City, that his favorite color was green and that he liked spiders. 

Peter’s stomach grumbled suddenly and both Tony and Peter glanced down to it.

“It sounds like your stomach could use something in there Pete.” Tony suggested and Peter shook his head. Thor, Tony and Bruce had been struggling to get the kid to eat anything substantial, the 6 year old claiming that his stomach hurt and he didn’t want anything in it. Bruce had explained that this was Peter still coming to terms with the grief of losing his parents and the life he had known. 

“What about that yummy jello you had yesterday? What was the flavor? That green color?” Tony suggested.

“Lime. That was yummy.” Peter nodded his head enthusiastically. 

“Let’s get you some of that then kiddo.” Tony moved slightly over in order to climb off the bed to go and find a nurse, but Peter gripped his shirt to prevent him from moving and Tony looked back down at him. “What’s up bud?” 

“Don’t want you to go.” Peter whimpered and Tony put his hand on top of Peter’s much smaller one on his shirt.

“I’m just going to see if I can find a nurse so we can get you some yummy jello, and get something in that stomach of yours.”

“No.” Peter shook his head and Tony sighed. He knew that Peter had had a rough night and he had been clingier with Tony while he had been in the room since that morning. Bruce had informed him that Peter had been having nightmares and had been dealing with some severe ones about the fire. 

“You need some jello bud.” Tony tried again and Peter shook his head again before laying his head against Tony’s chest and continuing his clutching on Tony’s shirt. Tony sighed and reached over to hit the button above Peter’s bed to call a nurse in. One walked in a few moments later and smiled when she saw Peter and Tony there. 

“Hi Peter, Tony.” She greeted and Peter’s face lit up.

“Hi Miss Molly.” Peter greeted as Tony nodded at the nurse. She had been Peter’s main nurse during the day and she was unfailingly kind and patient with Peter, and had managed to get him to talk even when Tony hadn’t.

“How are you Peter?” Molly asked as she walked closer to the bed smiling as she came over. 

“Good.” Peter replied, not moving his head from Tony’s chest.   
“That’s good Peter. Did I tell you about what my dog did last night?” Molly asked and Peter shook his head. 

“Well, I told you she’s only a puppy and does silly things right?” Peter nodded and Molly continued. As she spoke, Tony could see that she was looking at Peter’s vitals and noting them down on the clipboard she had picked up. 

“She found her tail yesterday and decided that she needed to catch it, so she spun around on my floor for a while.” Molly said and Peter giggled. “It was pretty funny. She fell over and tried to pretend she didn’t.”

“She sounds so silly.” Peter giggled again and Molly nodded.

“She is definitely silly.” Molly agreed. “Now what did you need me for?”

“Jello.” Tony answered and Molly looked up at him before looking at Peter. His stomach grumbled again and he took one of his hands from Tony’s shirt to put on his own stomach.

“Wow that’s quite a grumbly tummy there Peter. Are you sure you don’t want anything more than Jello? We have lots of different soup options, or some fruit or even a peanut butter & jelly sandwich?” Molly tried to suggest but Peter put his small hand back onto Tony’s shirt and shook his head.

“My mommy made the best Peanut Butter and Jelly.” Peter said after a moment and his face crumpled before he pushed it into Tony’s shirt. After a moment Tony could feel his shirt getting damp and he reached up to put a hand on Peter’s slightly shaking back. 

“I’m so sorry Peter.” Molly said softly as the little boy cried into Tony’s shirt. “I’ll go and get you some jello. Maybe later I can show you some more photos of my silly puppy. She’s very fluffy and cute.” 

There was no response from Peter and Molly smiled sadly at Tony before she headed out of the room, shutting the door behind her.    
“It’s okay bud.” Tony said to the little boy as he rubbed his hand on Peter’s small back. The little boy just kept his head buried into Tony’s chest as he continued to shake slightly. The two of them sat in silence until Peter’s breaths started getting a little uneven and Tony started growing concerned. 

“Pete?” He asked as he put a hand to try to softly push Peter’s head away from his chest. The little boy let him move his head easily and Tony put the hand under Peter’s chin to look at his face. His face was pale and tear-stained as he looked at Tony and his breathing had little wheezes at the end.Tony frowned before reaching over to grab the oxygen mask on the table. 

“Noooo.” Peter whined as he saw what Tony had but the man shook his head. 

“You need this bud. Just for a bit. Just wear it for a little bit and then you can have the jello that Miss Molly just went to get for you, okay?” Tony didn’t wait for a response before he pulled the straps of the mask over Peter’s head and set the mask over the boys’ nose and mouth. Peter pushed against Tony’s hand until he had his head back on Tony’s chest. When Tony glanced down he could see that the boys’ eyes were closed as he breathed through the oxygen the mask was providing him. Small tears were still escaping from the closed eyes and Tony reached down to wipe them away.

“You’re okay kiddo. It’s okay.” 

Peter just sighed under the mask and kept his eyes closed as Tony resumed rubbing his back. Peter adjusted his small body slightly until he was completely curled up next to Tony, continuing to clutch at Tony’s shirt. 

Tony knew he was in far too deep with the 6-year-old but at this point, he couldn’t take that back, and he certainly didn’t reject it. He had only known the kid for a short time but he had grown attached far too quickly. 

The kid was still young enough that once he adjusted to his life with his aunt and uncle, that he would forget all about Tony. That would hurt Tony but if the kid moved on and was able to keep living his life, that would only be a good thing for Peter.

“I have the yummy jello!” Molly called out as she came back into the room after a few minutes of silence, holding multiple cups of jello and spoons. Peter’s eyes flew open and he pushed himself up from Tony. Molly’s face grew concerned when she saw the oxygen mask on Peter’s face and she glanced up at Tony, but Tony shook his head before reaching down to pull it off.

“Here bud. We can go ahead and take this off so we can get you some jello.” Tony helped get the mask off of Peter’s face and the kid reached out with both hands for Jello. Molly ripped the lid off of one and handed it over to Peter with a spoon. She pulled the lid off of two more containers and sat them on the table next to Peter. The kid put a mouthful of jello in his mouth and hummed happily.   
“Good kiddo?” Tony asked and Peter nodded enthusiastically.

“I also ran into some people outside who were looking for Peter.” Molly announced. “A Happy Hogan and Ned Leeds?” 

“You can let them in.” Tony said and Molly headed out the room to go and bring them into the room.

“Who are they?” Peter asked as he looked up at Tony, still devouring his jello.

“Ned is about your age and Happy works with my fiance.” Tony replied, just as the two walked in with Molly. Ned had his backpack in his hand as Happy ushered him in. 

“Pete, this is Ned.” Tony introduced and Ned waved over at Peter.

“Hi Peter. Do you like Finding Nemo or Toy Story? I have a DVD player and Uncle Happy suggested we could watch a movie together because you might be bored in the hospital. I like Toy Story more, but if you want to watch Finding Nemo, we can do that too. Or I have some other movies in here. My mom packed them so I don’t know what is in here. She also packed you some of her cookies, they are really good-”

\---

“I think this was a good suggestion.” Happy said to Tony as they watched Ned and Peter watching the movie. The two boys were curled up on Peter’s bed with the movie playing, both completely engrossed in the movie. Tony knew Ned was an extremely cheerful and outgoing boy, and that hadn’t changed with him meeting Peter. Peter had been initially shy but Ned had a way of getting anyone to warm up to him.

“I think so too.” Tony agreed as he leaned against the wall. Peter glanced up at him and smiled briefly before looking back down at the dvd player and munching on the cookie in his hand. There were cookie crumbles all in the bed around the two of them as they had both dived into the bag Ned’s mom had sent with him very quickly..

“Pepper said the kid was having a hard time.” Happy commented and Tony nodded. 

“He has been. His lungs are still having a hard time if he gets too upset and he might have issues with them for an extended period of time, months even. He already has asthma and it’s only made that worse. Until Ned gave him those cookies, all he’s been eating is lime jello and he only really started talking to me today.” 

“Tony?” Molly walked back into the room, followed by Thor and two unfamiliar people that Tony didn’t know, but from the way they looked at Peter, he instinctively knew it was May and Ben Parker.

“Mr Thor!” Peter called out in delight from the bed as he glanced up to see the assortment of people gathered in the doorway.

“Careful!” Tony, May and Thor all called out as Peter nearly fell off the bed in his excitement to see the man. Peter’s face grew confused as he looked between the assembled adults. 

“Hi Peter.” May smiled at the boy who just frowned in response. “You probably don’t remember me as it’s been a few years but I’m your Aunt May.”

“It’s been 5 years May. I bet he doesn’t remember us.” Ben spoke up before he turned to Tony. “Ben Parker. You are?”

“Tony Stark.” Tony put a hand out to shake the mans’ hand and returned a firm shake in return. 

“You’re the firefighter? The one who saved Peter?” May asked and Tony nodded and then stepped back in surprise as she threw her arms around him and squeezed. “You saved Peter’s life.”

“I just got him out of the house, there were many other people who actually saved his life.” Tony replied as he awkwardly put his hand on the womans’ back. She broke away after a moment before wiping her eyes slightly. 

“You found him though. You saved our nephew.” Ben said and Tony nodded. 

“What’s going on?” Ned asked. He and Peter both sat on the bed still, looking at them all with confusion.

“Peter, this is your aunt and uncle.” Molly said motioning towards Ben and May. 

“Oh.” Peter said simply. Tony watched as he set down the cookie he was eating and curled up on the bed, wrapping his arms around his stomach. Tony wanted to move towards him but he forced himself to stay by the wall as May headed over to Peter. Happy motioned to Ned to climb down off the bed and the 7 year old grabbed his backpack before coming over to where Happy and Tony were. 

“I like Peter.” Ned said to them and Happy laughed.

“Yeah?”

“Yep. He likes cookies and movies and he has a stuffed penguin named Patrick.” Ned replied. “Can I see him again?”

“We’ll see Ned. But we should head out and let Peter talk to his aunt and uncle.” Happy suggested and Ned nodded.

“Okay.”

The two of them headed out of the room and then it was just Tony standing in the corner with Ben and Thor while May sat on the bed next to Peter. The 6 year old was still curled in on himself and completely closed off from his aunt. His eyes were roaming around the room, and they connected with Tony. The boy let out a small whimper and Tony’s heart felt like it clenched in his chest. He hadn’t expected the boys’ family to show up so soon, and it hurt more than he had even expected. 

“He seems like he likes you a lot.” Ben commented and Tony glanced back at him. “Peter. He seems like he likes you a lot.”

“He’s a good kid.” Tony replied. 

“My brother and sister-in-law loved him very much.” Ben said. “We spent a lot of time with them before we headed out to California but we haven’t seen them since we moved 5 years ago. May and I are both very busy with our jobs and so we couldn’t get back here at all.” 

“They definitely did love him.” Thor agreed. On the bed May put a hand out to Peter who hesitantly reached out to grab it and wrapped his tiny hand in hers.

“We should have come back more, but we never could have imagined something like this happening.They were actually planning on coming to visit us in the fall and bring Peter out to see California. Tony, we can’t thank you enough for saving Peter.” 

“I wasn’t really the one to save him Mr Parker-” Tony tried to protest again but Ben just shook his head.

“It’s Ben. And you were the one to get him out of that house.” Ben turned back to Peter and the three men stood in silence for a moment before Ben spoke again. “We aren’t sure what we are going to do with Peter though.”

“Do with him?” Thor asked and Ben nodded.

“May and I both have jobs that keep us very busy. It’s why we don’t have children of our own, and why we haven’t seen any of them in 5 years. We aren’t sure what we are going to do with Peter now, with our jobs. It’s going to make it much more difficult.” 

Tony opened his mouth and then quickly shut it again, trying to stem against the surge of anger that rose in his chest. Peter deserved to have guardians who knew exactly how they would take care of him, not wonder about what they would do with the 6-year-old. Peter needed attention, and comfort to deal with his grief and losing his parents, but it was not even remotely his place to say anything, despite his want to open his mouth and spout his opinion. His eyes met with Thor’s and he could see concern in the other mans’ eyes. 

“Their funeral will be next week. I can give you the info if you would like to come.” 

“I would like to attend.” Thor answered and Ben looked at Tony.

“I am going to decline but thank you for the invitation.” Tony replied. He cared for Peter, but he didn’t even know the kids’ parents beyond their names, and now was definitely not the time to get even more involved in the family. He needed to start taking steps back. 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! It wasn't a whole month before I updated this... a grand total of 4 days actually.

“What are you looking at?” Sam sat down next to Tony at the table in the restaurant while Steve and Clint sat down opposite. 

The team had gotten off shift a half hour earlier and the four of them had decided to go out and eat breakfast. Tony had gotten there first and while waiting for the others, had pulled out his phone to text Pepper and then gotten distracted with the spiders that were on his internet search.

“Spiders.” Tony responded as he glanced up.

“Why?” Sam asked.

“The kid.” Clint answered for Tony and Tony nodded. 

“He told me quite a number of facts about spiders and told me some of his favorite types. I didn’t know there were so many different types but Peter definitely knows a lot about them.” 

“How is the kid?” Steve asked as Tony paused and Tony frowned. 

He hadn’t seen Peter in a few days, the kid having finally left the hospital and moving to the apartment that May and Ben were now renting somewhere in the city. He had promised Peter that they would see each other but even as he had said that he knew he had been lying. May and Ben hadn’t seemed that keen for Tony and Peter to keep conversing and Tony knew he had exactly zero stand to push against that. 

“Ah Tony, I’m sorry.” Steve apologized when he realized what Tony’s silence meant and Tony shook his head.

“It’s okay. He’s moving on with his aunt and uncle like he should. I barely even know the kid, i’ve only known him for 2 weeks. He’s been through a lot in the past two weeks, and he needs to be with his family.” Tony put his phone down before he picked up the menu and stuck his face in it, trying to hide the emotion he knew was showing on his face. 

“Who are you trying to convince exactly of that Tony?” Clint asked and Tony kept his face hidden in the plastic menu. 

“At least he’s still in New York, right? You’ll still be in the same city?” Sam suggested and Tony didn’t respond. 

He didn’t know if knowing the kid was in the same city as him would make it harder or easier to move on from him. It was still shocking to him that the kid had taken such a grasp of his heart. He didn’t get that close to people that quickly- he hadn’t gotten close to any of the team for months and he had known Pepper for almost a year before they even went on their first date. It was two years after that before he had even thought about proposing to her. 

“He  _ is  _ still staying in New York right?” 

“As if I know.” Tony finally moved the menu from the front of his face, emotions more under control. The look Steve gave him proved him that no one was fooled and he sighed as he set the menu down. 

“His aunt and uncle really tell me that much except that they are renting an apartment. But they do both work in California so I don’t know what their plan is.” 

He knew that knowing Peter still lived in New York would likely be hard, but if he ever found out that the kid wasn’t there, he knew that would be even harder. 

“They didn’t tell you?” Clint asked and Tony shook his head. “Why not?”

“Clint, they don’t know me and I hardly even know the kid. They are under zero obligation to tell me anything, and they didn’t. Even Thor doesn’t know and he’s a lot closer to the kid than I am.”

“I know but I just thought that you and the kid got close enough that you would want to know.” Clint pressed, and Tony glared at him. He knew why Clint was pressing though, the man had children.

“Okay, that’s enough of interrogating Tony.” Steve announced and Clint shut his mouth. “His aunt and uncle will be doing what they think is best for Peter. Now, I’m starving.”

-

“Happy said Ned has been asking to see Peter again.” Pepper sat down next to Tony on the couch in their apartment with a bowl of pasta in her hands. Tony had gotten off shift earlier than she had, and made them pasta for when Pepper got off, and then sat down to watch the news. The woman had walked through the door a few moments earlier and immediately headed for the couch.

Tony sighed as he muted the tv and he turned to her. He hadn’t seen Peter in a week, and he was doing his best not to think about him. A fire earlier that day had involved kids, and while the whole family and their home came out unscathed, it had still made him think about Peter the entire time. Steve mentioned after the call that Tony had seemed somewhat distracted and Tony had partly blown him off, well aware that he had been distracted but not wanting to think about it. Scott had mentioned after that about Hope seeing Peter coming into the hospital with his aunt for a checkup but beyond that, Tony had received no word on the kid.

“Happy told Ned he probably wouldn’t see Peter again, and Ned seemed pretty disappointed.” Pepper said as she curled up on the couch next to Tony.

“Maybe that wasn’t the best idea to introduce them.” Tony sighed again and Pepper grabbed his hand to give it a squeeze.

“I don’t think you really believe that.” Pepper said softly and Tony looked at her face. Her eyes were full of sympathy as she squeezed his hand again. “It was a good idea honey. You said that it got Peter eating more than just jello and interacting with someone his age. And Ned is such a kind little boy. Just how you described Peter.”

“I shouldn’t have gotten so close.” Tony muttered as he looked away.

He hadn’t seen Pepper very much over the last week with their job schedules, and this was really the first time they were discussing Peter. He hadn’t been able to really discuss his thoughts with anyone, but Pepper was his fiance and the person he was closest to in his world, besides James who still hadn’t shown up. 

“Tony.” Pepper’s voice was serious as she put a hand under Tony’s chin to force him to look at her, he did so hesitantly. 

“What?”

“I don’t think you really mean that either, what you did was a good thing. That little boy had no one and he was in a very scary hospital environment after having his life completely turned around.” 

“He had Thor.” Tony pointed out and Pepper shook her head.

“But he wanted you. Honey, I know you’re sad right now but spending time with Peter was a good thing, a wonderful thing, and I’m really proud of you for opening up your heart to him. You are going to be a wonderful dad when we eventually have our own.”

“Geez Pepper.” Tony took his free hand and covered his eyes with it, as the emotions started to overwhelm him.

“It’s true honey. I know you may not think so but it’s true.” A sob escaped from Tony before he could stop it, and then Pepper had her arms wrapped around him as tears escaped his eyes and started flowing down his cheeks. “I’m sorry Tony, I’m sorry.”

-

“Wait, Clint is cooking? I thought he was banned from that?” Sam asked.

“He’s getting a second chance.” Steve replied without looking up from all of the papers he had strewn across the table. Tony had glanced down at the papers and then decided he didn’t want anything to do with that. There was more than one reason that Steve was the Captain and there were a lot of numbers and names on the papers.

“Who gave him a second chance?” Scott asked as he shifted in his seat. Viz was sitting next to him, with his head resting on Scott’s knee, trying to get attention that Scott wasn’t really giving him.

“I did.” Steve answered. “He said Laura has been working on teaching him some things and he wants to try again so I gave him a second chance.”

“Well, this place is falling apart anyways so what more damage could he possibly do?” Bucky joked just as Clint walked into the room.

“Yeah, I heard that.” Clint protested.

“What are you making?” Scott asked as Viz gave up and ran across the room in a line for the couch where Natasha and Wanda were sitting.

“Lasagna. Laura and I worked on it yesterday and the kids all liked it.” Clint replied.

“Your kids eat anything Clint. I don’t know if that is an accurate representation of your cooking.” Natasha called out from the couch and Clint glared at her before stalking off to the kitchen.

“Call out if you need help!” Bucky called out and Clint just ignored him as the others all laughed.

“Hello?” A womans’ voice called out amongst the laughter and Tony jerked his head around to see May walking through the door with Peter walking closely behind her, clutching at Patrick.

“Mr Tony!” Peter’s face lit up when he saw the firefighter and he dashed over to Tony. He quickly pushed himself back from the table and Peter launched himself into Tony’s lap. Tony let out a huff as Peter managed to push an elbow directly into his stomach and Peter immediately froze.

“Did I hurt you?”

“It’s okay kid.” Tony replied and Peter positioned himself until he was sitting leaning against Tony’s chest. 

“What are you doing here bud?”

“I’m so sorry.” May hurried over to them and Scott mentioned to the empty seat next to him. “He’s been asking to see you for the last week and a half and wouldn’t stop. We asked the nurse- Hope I think was her name- at the last checkup and she told us you worked here.” May explained as she sat down. “I’m sorry to burst in on you all like this.”

“That’s okay.” Tony replied as Peter started showing off Patrick to Scott and Bucky. “I wasn’t sure if you were staying in New York.”

“Uh-” May hesitated as she glanced down at Peter.

“Hey Peter, my name is Sam. What do you say we go and help Clint in the office?” Sam introduced himself, quickly catching onto May’s hesitance, and Peter nodded.

“Mommy and I used to make pasta a lot together.” 

Sam held out his hand to Peter and he climbed down off of Tony’s lap.

“Can Patrick come? He’s my penguin.” 

“Of course Patrick can come. And we’ll get your coat taken off so you can help us.” Sam smiled. Peter took his hand and the two of them headed off to the kitchen, Peter chatting happily to Sam about Patrick.

“So?” Tony asked May once Peter had walked out of earshot. 

“We aren’t staying in New York. We’re staying until the end of Peter’s school year and then taking him to California. Ben is in California right now and we are going to alternate being out there and here for the next few months. Our jobs are out there so ultimately we need to be out there.” May explained and Tony’s stomach clenched. 

Any surprise and joy that had appeared when Peter had walked in had vanished. He had accepted that this could be a possibility when trying to move on from Peter, and he had discussed it with Pepper when he broke down on the couch, but actually hearing it was different and it hurt far more than he expected. 

“We’ll be able to get Peter into school there, and find some assistance in taking care of him.” May continued. “Some of our coworkers know some nannies that we can look into.”

“Nannies?” Scott burst out and May nodded.

“Ben and I are far too busy to take care of Peter all the time. The nanny will help.”

“Does Peter know he’s moving to California? I’m Bucky by the way.” Bucky introduced himself and May shook her head.

“We aren’t telling him until the end of the school year. That’s the beginning of June. We’re planning on moving him out the weekend after school ends as that’s when the apartment lease ends.”

“So 4 months?” Bucky asked and May nodded.

“Can I ask a question?” Steve cut in and May raised an eyebrow at him.

“Obviously I don’t know you or your husband or even Peter that well, but don’t you think it would be more beneficial to tell Peter now?”

“No.” May replied shortly. “If we tell him now, he’ll just put up a fuss and we don’t want to have to deal with that until we have to. Especially when only one of him will be with us at a time.”

The sound of Peter’s laugh came from the kitchen and Tony looked over to see that he was standing on the counter without his coat on with a spoon in his hand, with sauce on his, Clint and Sam’s faces. 

“Tony?” May asked and Tony looked back at her.

“Peter asked if he could come and see you every day. Ben said no and Peter got very upset, which is actually why we came today. He had a bit of a meltdown and it only stopped when I told him we could come and see you.” May said to Tony and then sighed. “Ben and I don’t know why he is so attached to you but he is and we can’t do much about it.”

“I don’t know May.” Tony said very hesitantly. He felt sick to his stomach and was having a hard time getting around that. Peter laughed from the kitchen again and Tony ran a hand over his face before rubbing his eyes. 

“We wouldn’t suggest this except that Peter got very upset when we told him no. Ben and I don’t think it’s a great idea at all, but we also can’t deal with Peter having meltdowns each time we tell him no.” May explained. “Neither of us are equipped for that. Ben and I thought if maybe he came to you once a week just for a few hours that it would be enough. And we don’t talk to him about California until the end of the year.”

“May, I’m really against this.” Tony replied as he ran the same hand through his hair. Tony’s heart was racing at the thought that he would keep getting to see Peter, but only for the next few months and then the kid was gone. He didn’t know if he could handle that, and he really didn’t think he could do that to Peter. “May, I like Peter, he’s a great kid but letting him come to the firehouse and getting close to us, only to rip it away is cruel. He’s lost a lot in his life, and I just don’t know if we should allow that to happen.”

“Tony, I understand and I wouldn’t have any interest in this except that Peter melts down.” May replied.

“Mr Tony!” Peter cried out just as Tony was about to protest again. Sam helped him climb down from the counter and then Peter rushed over to Tony, Patrick still in his hands.    
“Hey Pete.” Peter climbed up into Tony’s lap again and settled himself so that he had his hands on Tony’s face. 

“Did Auntie May ask you if I could come and visit you?” 

“She did buddy.”

“And can I?” Peter’s face looked so earnest that Tony had to glance away. May just looked at him with no expression on her face and Tony sighed, knowing that he couldn’t say no to Peter. He couldn’t do that to the sweet child who was sitting on his lap and looking so excited about the prospect.

“Yeah buddy you can. But we decided just one day for a few hours each week, okay?” Tony asked and Peter’s face fell slightly. “You have school buddy, and we can get quite busy around here.”   
“We’re looking forward to having you come Peter.” Scott spoke up and Peter turned around to look at him. “I’m Scott.”

“Food is ready!” Clint called out. 

“Would you like to stay for food?” Steve asked May and Peter and the boy glanced over at May. She nodded and Peter let out a cheer and then threw his arms around Tony in delight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's still a lot of this story to go, so don't be too concerned about how this is going right now...
> 
> I have this outlined to 17 chapters, and this is only Chapter 5. The 17 could change but either way, there's still plenty to come. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first off- hello to everyone who is reading this story! This is the most response I have ever gotten in a story! I appreciate you all. :)
> 
> Second- I simply don’t like this chapter very much. It is a bit of a filler but I struggled to get it done. BUT i started the next chapter already and that one is flowing much easier and will have some serious Peter & Tony interaction and fluff.

“So, what is this I hear about a 6 year old?” Tony’s head jerked up as he walked through the door of his apartment to see James sitting on one of the couches with Pepper. He set the groceries he had just purchased on the counter and then strode over to where the two were sitting and hugged James as he stood up. 

“You jerk. You didn’t tell me you were coming!” 

Tony laughed as James thumped him on the back before he released Tony and sat back down next to Pepper. Tony walked back to the groceries to grab a beer for James. He had an hour until he had to leave for the firehouse for a shift, so he grabbed himself a bottle of water and a tea bottle for Pepper He handed them their drinks and then sat himself down onto the couch. 

“I didn’t actually know until they told us we were done, and I headed straight here. Pep told me you were at the store so I figured I’d wait.” James explained. “But again, what is this about a 6 year old that Pepper told me about? Peter? She didn’t give me that many details.”

“I haven’t even met him yet.” Pepper replied smiling. Even though she had helped Tony with getting Peter clothes and toys, she hadn’t actually had the chance to be introduced to Peter. 

“Well, he’s 6 years old and he’s full of goodness despite losing his parents. He likes spiders, and he has a penguin named Patrick who he introduces to just about everyone he ever meets.” Tony explained as he smiled at James. His chest warmed up as he spoke about the kid, despite his concerns about spending time with Peter for the next few months. 

“But he’s moving away?” James pushed after a moment of Tony’s silence and he sighed and nodded.

“His aunt and uncle live in California and want to take him there at the end of the school year.” Tony replied. 

“How does the kid feel about that?” James asked and Tony saw Pepper shake her head out of the corner of his eye. “Wait, he doesn’t know?”

“He doesn’t.” Pepper replied. “His aunt and uncle decided he didn’t need to know.”

“I don’t really know much about kids, but i’m sure that’s not going to go down well.” James questioned and Pepper nodded. She reached over to rub her thumb on the top of Tony’s hand and he smiled slightly at her. 

“We unfortunately don’t have much say on the matter.” Pepper explained. “We can’t argue with his guardians.” 

“Can I ask a question?” James asked and Tony nodded. “You’ve saved plenty of kids in fires, why is Peter so different?” 

Pepper laughed softly and both men turned their heads towards her. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just that everyone has asked that.”

“He’s just different.” Tony said. “I don’t really know how to explain it, but he is.” 

James nodded, looking thoughtful but he didn’t question Tony any further, simply taking a drink out of the bottle of beer. 

“Do you want to come to the firehouse with me? It’s Peter’s night at the firehouse and I’m sure he would love to meet you.” Tony asked and James nodded. 

“Sure, i’d love to meet the kid.” 

-

“James! It’s good to see you.” Steve called out as Tony and James entered the firehouse, shivering as they pushed the door open to get out of the cold. 

“Hey Steve. It’s been a while.” James shook the hand that Steve held out and then headed over to the main table where most of the other firefighters were sitting, Tony following after him as he shook the snow out of his hair. The snow didn’t seem to want to leave and Tony was slightly dreading being called out into the cold and snow. 

“How’s the Air Force?” Clint asked as they all huddled around the table.

The firehouse was drafty, and their jackets weren’t doing much to prevent against that. Tony hoped that Peter would have his own jacket to wear when he got there, to make sure the kid remained warm enough. There were blankets that he would give Peter if he needed.

“Not much I can tell you.” James replied and Clint whistled. 

“I always forget how secretive you are. Your best friend here wears his emotions on his sleeve.”

“I do NOT.” Tony argued, and Clint and James both gave him a disbelieving look.

“Whatever.” 

“Hey all!” Scott walked through the door and Tony glanced up to see his teenage daughter Cassie trailing behind him.

“Hi everyone.” Cassie greeted quietly as the two of them joined the group at the table.

“It’s just a party here today.” Sam commented at the amount of people in the firehouse. 

“Cassie isn’t feeling great and left school early. Hope is at the hospital tonight so we didn’t want to leave her in the house by herself.” Scott explained. “I’d rather have her here to keep an eye on her.”

“Even though I’m 16 and can take care of myself.” Cassie replied and Tony winced at her voice. Her voice sounded scratchy and painful. 

“Ow.” Clint spoke up with what Tony was thinking and there was murmured consent around the table. “That sounds painful Cassie.”

“Okay, so now that we are all here, we need to do some cleaning of the storage rooms. Scott, Tony- you’re exempt but everyone else, the rooms need to be cleaned tonight.” Steve started and Clint interrupted him.

“Why are they exempt?”

“Because of Cassie, and Peter coming tonight.” Steve explained. 

“I’m fine. I really can take care of myself.” Cassie tried to protest but Scott shook his head.

“No. You have a fever and I don’t want it getting worse. You are going to lie down on one of the beds and stay there.”

  
“Hello?” A deep voice called out and all heads, including Tony’s, turned around to see Thor stepping through the door, with Peter right on his heels.

“Hi!!!” Peter cried out as he burst out from behind Thor and headed straight for Tony. The man prepared himself as Peter threw himself straight at Tony’s legs and then climbed onto his lap, with Patrick clutched in his hand as usual. Peter adjusted himself so he was sitting facing the table and then he set Patrick down in front of him. 

“Thor, what are you doing here? Wasn’t May supposed to drop Peter off?” Tony asked, surprised to see the man who was carrying Peter’s backpack and winter jacket. Tony had spoken to May just a few days prior to confirm Peter coming over, and she had said she would pick Peter up from school and bring him over, and then pick him up after a few hours.

“She said she had a last minute conference call that she had to be on and asked me to pick Peter up from school. She also, uh-” Thor hesitated slightly before continuing. “She said he needs to stay here tonight as she can’t pick him up. If he can’t stay here, I can come back and get him later, and have him stay at my house.” 

Tony sighed as Thor set Peter’s backpack on the floor next to the chair. 

“That’s no problem for him to stay here tonight. We have plenty of beds in the sleeping area, and that snow is only supposed to get worse, I don’t want anyone driving in it anymore than needed..” Steve spoke up and Thor nodded. 

“Thank you for your kindness in letting him stay. It should be his aunt picking him up tomorrow, but if it isn’t, I will be here to pick him up. He does have a change of clothes in his backpack as well as his toothbrush, toothpaste and some pajamas.” Thor explained and Tony nodded as Thor knelt down to Peter’s level.

“Peter, you’re going to sleep over here tonight, okay? Either your aunt or I will pick you up in the morning.” Thor explained and Peter tore his eyes from Patrick to look at Thor.

“A sleepover with Mr Tony?” Peter asked, sounded excited and Tony hated it. The kid didn’t know his aunt was pawning him off because she was too busy for him. 

“Indeed a sleepover with Mr Tony.” Thor replied and Peter looked at up at Tony, who tried to relax his face and smile down at him. He didn’t think he did it quick enough as Peter frowned at him slightly. “Do you not want me to sleep over Mr Tony?”

“Oh no bud, I absolutely do. We all are very excited you are staying over tonight. It will be lots of fun.” Tony replied quickly as he smiled at Peter, the frown disappearing from the 6-year-olds face and a smile replacing it.

“Me too!” Peter said happily. He turned his head to see James sitting there and after a moment of hesitation, he pushed Patrick towards him. “I’m Peter and this is my penguin Patrick.”

“Hi Peter. I’m James.” James replied smiling at Peter who beamed back at him.

“I will take my leave now.” Thor stood up and exited the firehouse, a cold draft coming in behind him that went through the whole house. 

“Mr. Tony, can I see one of the fire trucks?” Peter asked as he wriggled on Tony’s lap. The man helped him climb down safely until he was back on the floor, eagerly gazing at the truck parked in front of him. 

“Can I show you Peter?” Steve asked and Peter nodded enthusiastically. Steve took his hand and led him over to the truck, picking him up so that he could sit inside and following him up. Tony could hear Peter’s little voice excitedly calling out different things from inside the truck. His head stuck out of one of the windows after a few minutes and he called out to Tony.

“Mr. Tony! I’m in your seat!” 

“That you are Pete.” Tony called back. 

Peter had left Patrick on the table and Tony found himself running a hand over the toy that Peter was attached to. He hoped May and Ben would let the kid keep the penguin as Peter was clearly so attached to it. Tony found himself wishing that they had never given Peter the penguin, but then quickly pushed that thought away. The kid deserved whatever he wanted after what he had been through. 

“Mr Tony!!!” Peter called out to him. Tony didn’t respond, continuing to look at Patrick. “Mr Tony!!” Peter called again, and Tony kept looking at Patrick. Tears sprung to his eyes suddenly and he tried to wipe them away without being obvious. 

“Tony.” James nudged him and Tony shook his head. “Tony.” James nudged him again and he glanced up at his best friend. 

“Mr Tony!!” Peter cried out again but Tony still couldn’t look over at him. He didn’t want the kid to see him upset and worry about it.

“Just give him a minute Peter. Why don’t you have Steve show you our trucks’ horn?” Clint called out and Tony heard Peter yell back an okay. 

“Tony. You’re okay.” James said as he laid a hand on Tony’s leg and Tony nodded. “Pepper mentioned you were having a hard time getting attached to the kid just for him to leave. He’s a sweet kid.” 

“He is.” Tony answered as he tried to slow the tears down. 

“And you know Pepper and I, and your entire team, will be there when Peter leaves to support you, but right now that kid needs you. He doesn’t know that he’s leaving in a few months, he just knows that he wants to spend time with you, and that there are people who care for him after he just lost his beloved parents, and he’s grown attached to you. I don’t agree that he doesn’t know, but he needs you right now.” James spoke softly and Tony knew his words weren’t meant to be cruel. 

He nodded and hastily wiped at his eyes before he pushed himself back from the table, and headed over to where Peter and Steve were at the Firetruck.

“Hi Kiddo.” He greeted Peter who beamed at him from the front seat. 

“This is the best.” Peter proclaimed and both Steve and Tony laughed.

“Oh yeah?” 

“Uh huh.” Peter nodded and then yawned widely. 

“Oh bud, that was a large yawn.” Tony commented and Peter yawned again. “Are you tired?” 

Peter climbed over the truck chair to reach out to Tony, who put his arms around him and pulled him down. Instead of letting Tony put him down, Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and put his head down on Tony’s shoulder. Tony looked up to see Steve as he tried to stifle a smile at Peter falling asleep in Tony’s arms. 

“Okay, so the squirt and I are going to go lie down then I guess.” Tony said as he walked back towards the table. Peter moved his legs so they were wrapped around Tony’s torso before sighing against Tony’s neck. He was getting heavier in Tony’s arms and he could tell he was almost asleep. 

“You can go lie down in my office. It’ll be quieter, but you’ll still hear if the alarm goes off.” Steve offered and Tony nodded. 

He walked past the table, grabbing Patrick from where James held him out, and back into the station where the beds were all set. Steve’s office was further to the back, and Tony headed through the door before shutting it behind him. He carefully untangled Peter’s limbs from his body and lay the kid down on the bed, before pulling back the blankets and pulling them over him. 

“Mr Tony.” Peter’s eyes opened slightly as Tony set Patrick down next to him and he reached out an arm for Tony. “Please.” Peter whined and Tony gave in. He had planned to just sit in the chair at Steve’s desk while Peter slept, but knew that was out of the question now.

“Okay, scoot over then squirt.” Peter shifted ever so slightly in the bed and Tony laughed. “I need more than that kid.” 

Peter giggled sleepily as he pushed himself further over towards the wall and Tony lay down on top of the blankets. Peter squirmed back over until he was lying right next to Tony, and the man lifted an arm to put it behind Peter’s head, as the 6 year old squirmed closer. Patrick was trapped between them and Tony reached down to move the penguin out of the way to put it on the other side of Peter. 

“Thanks Mr Tony.” Peter whispered as his eyes fell shut again. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, i’m still blown away by the response to this story. You are all seriously so wonderful!!!! 
> 
> So this was supposed to be fluff and fluff and fluff, and then it got angsty? I got the “I made snowmen for you” line in my head and knew I needed to write it. It’s lightly based on my experiences of being bullied when I was young- older than Pete in this story but still young, and my Mom’s response. 
> 
> Also, i know some of you really don’t like May at all. This chapter does sort of touch on why she is the way she is. She & Ben really do care, but they did lose family and aren’t prepared for Peter. 
> 
> Also, this isn’t edited so I apologize for any mistakes. I’ll go back and do any edits later on.

“You want me to look after him for an entire week?” Tony asked into the phone as he walked out of the firehouse after shift. It was a brisk day in March and he wanted to get out of the cold and into his car as soon as possible. 

“Yes Tony. Both Ben & I both have to be in California for a week, and we don’t want to bring him out here yet.” May replied from the other end. “I need to be back there on Sunday so Peter would be with you from Sunday to Sunday. I would really appreciate it if you could take him, I know three days warning isn’t much time.” 

Tony sighed as he reached his car and unlocked it before climbing in. He waved at Sam and Bucky as they walked by and then turned his car on. 

“Tony?” May asked after a few moments of silence for Tony. He sighed again, knowing there was no way he could say no. He knew their next option would be Thor, and Tony knew that Thor really couldn’t take care of Peter but that the man also wouldn’t say no to May. 

“I need to check with Pepper May, but I can ask her today.” Tony replied. He sighed as the heat turned on in the car and blasted him in the face. 

“Thank you. Can you please let me know? I do want to make sure Peter has somewhere to go.” May replied and Tony affirmed. 

He headed away from the fire station and headed in the direction of Pepper’s work. She wasn’t expecting him but it was almost lunchtime so he could go and surprise her for lunch and ask her if she was willing to have Peter in the apartment for an entire week. 

They had the spare room in the apartment that they could put together for Peter but he couldn’t just spring a surprise on his already very forgiving fiance. 

He pulled up outside Pepper’s office and greeted Friday, the receptionist. She was a kind, irish woman who had worked at the office for years, and she merely let Tony pass by without any concern. Pepper’s office was on the 9th floor and once Tony exited the elevator, he could see her standing in the hallway talking to Happy. The man saw Tony first and nodded at Pepper to turn around to see him.

“Hi honey.” Tony greeted her as he approached her and they headed into her office. 

“Not that i’m not glad to see you, but why are you here?” Pepper asked as the two of them sat down on Pepper’s couch.

“May Parker.” Tony said and Pepper’s expression darkened.

“What has she done now?”

“She asked if we could take Peter for a week, starting on Sunday.”

“A week?”

“I guess she and Ben are both needed in California and they don’t want to take Peter with them.”

“Of course they don’t.” Pepper got up from the couch and walked to the other side of the room as she crossed her arms. 

“I know she’ll ask Thor if we say no.”

“Well, we aren’t saying no.” Pepper replied.

“We aren’t?”

“No. But we’ll make it work. The apartment isn’t exactly set up for a 6 year old but I do know one of my co-workers is trying to sell a small bed, and we can get some sheets and blankets for him for the spare room. I was going to go to the grocery store tonight, so I’ll get some appropriate food. I’ll ask Happy what Ned likes, and see if I can get some of the same.”

“I think most kids like Chicken Nuggets?” Tony tried suggesting and Pepper just gave him an amused look.

“Thanks for the help.” Pepper sat back down next to Tony as she pulled her phone out, for what Tony assumed was to make a list. “Ned sometimes comes here after school so I can’t see that being a problem for Peter when he’s here. You’re on shift Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon- so you can pick him up on Monday since you aren’t back on shift until Tuesday so I’ll have him come here on Tuesday and then you can get him on Wednesday and Thursday and then he can come here on Friday. The only problem will be Saturday until you get off work. I have to work and I’m sure he’ll get bored here. Can I bring him to the station?” 

“What about if he spent time with Ned?” Tony suggested. 

He wasn’t entirely keen on the idea but he knew that if the team got a call out, that Peter would want to go with them and he didn’t want that. They had been lucky so far with only one major call out while Peter was at the house, and that was the night that Peter had slept over, so James and Cassie had been there to assist if Peter woke up while Tony had been gone, which he hadn’t. 

“That could work. Happy was talking about how he was taking Ned ice skating and then going to see a movie with his sister. I can ask if he wouldn’t mind Peter joining as well.” Pepper answered slowly. 

“And then I can join them after I get off. Okay, so I’ll go and get the kid some stuff and tell May we will look after him. What size is the bed?” Tony stood up from the couch and Pepper gave him another look, this one slightly wary.

“It’s a twin. And don’t go overboard Tony.” 

“Me?” Tony asked Pepper in mock shock. He already knew he was going to get too much for the kid, and Pepper knew it too.

-

“See, this is why I told you not to go overboard.” Pepper told Tony as they stared at the spare bedroom as they got it ready for Peter to be dropped off. The bed was pushed against one of the walls and Tony had purchased red sheets with a massive black spider on them. Pepper had hated them instantly but Tony knew Peter would love them. He had learned even more about spiders from Peter the last time he had seen him- even more than he really cared to know at all. 

In addition to the sheets, quilt and multitude of pillows that Tony had purchased, he had also gotten a wide variety of toys, including a giant stuffed spider that was almost bigger than Peter himself. 

“I couldn’t pass that by.” Tony pointed out the spider and Pepper just shook her head. 

“You absolutely could have.” Pepper replied.”He doesn’t need that, and you know they won’t be able to take that on a plane to California.” 

“Stop being so reasonable.” Tony said huffily and Pepper laughed. 

As Tony adjusted the spider on the bed, a knock on the door interrupted them, and Tony’s heart leapt. He tossed the spider on the bed and hurried to the door, pulling it open to see Peter and May standing there. May was holding onto Peter’s hand with one hand and a duffel bag in the other, while the kid had Patrick in his hand as well as his backpack.

“Hi Mr Tony!” Peter called out in glee as he grinned at Tony.

“Hey kid.” Tony replied as he bent down to give Peter a hug.

“Hi Peter. My name is Pepper. It’s nice to meet you.” Pepper said as Tony and Peter broke apart. Peter looked up at Pepper and beamed as he lifted Patrick up. 

“Hi!” 

“Can I talk to you for a moment Tony?” May asked and Tony nodded.

“Do you want to see where you are going to be staying?” Pepper asked Peter who nodded excitedly before turning around to give May a hug. She hesitantly returned it before Peter turned back to Pepper.

“Bye Auntie May!” He called as Pepper led him towards the spare bedroom. Tony heard him cry out in excitement a few moments later and smiled.

“Tony.” May said seriously and he turned back to her as she set the duffle bag down. 

“I-uh- I know I haven’t been great the past few months with Peter. Dumping him on you at the Firehouse for the entire night the other week wasn’t fair, and asking you to take him for this entire week wasn’t fair either. This has just been a big adjustment and nothing that was ever expected. Ben has been having a really hard time being around Peter as he reminds him of Ben so much, which isn’t an excuse at all, but Ben didn’t want Peter to come out to California yet.” 

Tony knew his mouth was open in surprise as May spoke and she smiled slightly.

“Your response tells me all I need to know. You and Pepper and the other firefighters have been incredible for Peter the last few months and I’m so glad that you have all been there for him. Peter is such a sweet little boy and I do truly love him, I’m trying to work on taking care of him and figure out my very demanding job as well as Ben’s.” 

“He is a very sweet boy.” Tony agreed, finally finding his voice again as May paused in her explanation. 

“I know it’s going to hurt taking him to California and that we should tell him, but I don’t know how to handle a meltdown like that yet. Ben is looking for a nanny who knows how to take care of kids, we do want to make sure it is someone kind and who will properly care for Peter.” May smiled slightly again. “You are all too kind to say something, but I know we haven’t made very good impressions on you.” 

“Mr Tony!” Peter called out before Tony could say anything in response, and the kid appeared in front of him. “Auntie May, you’re still here!” 

“I am Peter.” May replied. 

“My room is Spider themed and there’s a giant stuffed spider!!” Peter said excitedly as he hugged Tony’s legs. 

“Oh yeah?” May asked. “That’s great. I’m going to go ahead and go as my flight takes off in a few hours. Don’t forget about your inhaler in your bag Peter, okay?” 

“I’ll remember.” Peter nodded as he continued to hug Tony’s legs. The man brought down his hand to tousle the kids’ hair and Peter beamed up at him. “Bye Auntie May.” 

“Thank you both.” May said to Tony and Pepper and then headed out of the door.

“Peter, do you want to put your bag in your room?” Pepper asked and Peter let go of Tony’s legs to grab his duffle bag. The two adults watched as he half carried, half dragged the bag into the spare room and Pepper stepped closer to Tony.

“I heard May.” She said softly to Tony and he looked at her. “I heard all of what she said. Peter didn’t though.” 

“It was surprising.” Tony answered and Pepper nodded.

“But it explained a lot.” 

—

“Do you like your school?” Tony asked Peter as they drove towards Peter’s school. 

The kid was sitting in the back of the car in his bucket seat that Pepper had set up in the car before she left for work, aware that Tony would undoubtedly struggle with it. The three of them had had breakfast before they parted ways, with a delighted Peter devouring his chocolate chip pancakes, sharing with Patrick. 

“Mmm hmm.” Peter replied as he stared out the window at the passing scenery.

“What’s your favorite subject?” 

“I like art.” Peter continued to stare out the window.

“Oh yeah? I haven’t seen any of your art yet.”

“It all went away with mommy and daddy.” Peter replied and Tony sighed slightly. Peter’s lip wobbled slightly as he spoke and Tony’s heart sank. 

“I’m sorry buddy.” 

“I miss them lots.” 

“I lost my parents a few years ago and it hurts a lot doesn’t it?” Tony tried. 

He wasn’t completely comfortable with the subject, losing his parents had been so sudden and awful, and he didn’t much like to talk about it. If it could help Peter though, he would try.

“It hurts my tummy when I think about them.” Peter’s lip wobbled again. 

Tony pulled into the school’s parking lot and parked the car before getting out to go around and open Peter’s door. The little boy unbuckled his seatbelt and reached his arms up for Tony. He picked Peter up and the child put his arms around Tony’s neck in a hug.

“It’s okay kiddo. It’s absolutely okay to think about them. I still think about mine a lot.” Tony rubbed Peter’s back as the kid clung to him. He could tell Peter was crying as he clung to him, and he felt terrible. There were other cars pulling in and dropping kids off as Peter and Tony clung to one another. 

“You don’t have to go to school today kiddo if you don’t feel up to it.” Tony told Peter and the boy pulled away from Tony. He put his hands up to his face as Tony kept his arms around Peter’s torso. 

“I want to go.” Peter rubbed at his face, trying to dry his eyes and Tony nodded. He knelt down to put Peter on the ground, and then stayed kneeling down next to him, as he helped Peter dry off his face.

“Are you sure?” He asked and Peter nodded. 

“Miss Lewis said we’re making paper snowmen today. I want to make some.” 

Tony smiled as Peter reached for his backpack and Patrick, and shut the door behind him.

“Okay buddy, i’ll see you later okay? I’ll be here at 3pm to pick you up, and we’ll go get ice cream. But no telling Pepper, okay?” 

Peter giggled as he hugged Tony’s legs and then headed towards the school door, his backpack dragging down on his back.

Tony had made sure that the inhaler was in there, as well as the cellphone that May had given Peter. The cellphone only had 5 phone numbers in there for emergencies- including Tony’s and Pepper’s. Tony watched until Peter disappeared through the door, and then he got back into the car. He picked up his phone to see a message from Pepper.

_ Pepper 7:45am Did you drop him off?  _

_ Tony 7:51am He just walked in. A few tears about his parents but he wanted to go to school. _

_ Pepper 7:52am Poor thing. Are you okay?  _

_ Tony 7:53am I’m fine. _

_ Pepper 7:55am I  don’t really believe you. Where are you taking Peter after school? _

_ Tony 7:57am Why do you think i’m taking him somewhere? _

_ Pepper 7:58am Because I know you. _

Tony laughed as he set the phone down to start the car and leave the school. He had the entire day without anything planned so he knew he was going to head back to the apartment.

—

“What do you think we should have for dinner?” Tony asked Pepper on the phone as he sat in the parking lot waiting for Peter. He was early for the end of the day, but wanted to make sure he was there when Peter exited the school. After his tears this morning, he was worried about the kid. 

“Where are you taking him after school?” Pepper asked.

“To get ice cream.” Tony replied and Pepper laughed. 

“Of course you are. What about Italian? I’m- ” Pepper continued to talk but Tony got distracted as he saw Peter come out the door. 

The kid had Patrick in one hand, and what looked like paper snowmen in another hand, his backpack on as he hurried down the steps. He looked up to see Tony who waved with his free hand, and his face lit up. 

As Tony watched, two other kids came out behind Peter and Peter turned around to them. Tony couldn’t see very well but he did see when one of them shoved Peter and he stumbled down the two steps before he fell to the ground. Patrick went flying in one direction, and the paper snowmen in other directions.

“HEY!” Tony wasn’t even aware that he was out of the car until he was halfway across the parking lot.

“Tony?” Pepper asked through the phone.

“I’ll call you back Pep. Peter just got pushed over.” Tony hung up the phone before he pushed it into his pocket and dashed across the lot to get to Peter’s side. 

The ground was icy and wet from leftover snow as he rushed across. The two kids who had pushed him were running away but Peter just sat on the ground crying. 

“Pete.” Tony reached his side, crouching down next to him and Peter looked up at him. “Hi kid.”

“Mr Tony.” Peter sobbed before he latched onto Tony’s arm. The ground was cold and wet and Tony’s jeans grew damp quickly. 

“Are you hurt?” Tony asked. He was furious that Peter had been pushed, but he tried to tamper that down to make sure Peter was okay.

“My hand hurts.” Peter whimpered and Tony grabbed Peter’s hands to look at the palms. One of them was red and scratched up and Peter wailed as Tony touched it. 

“What happened?” A woman came over to them holding Patrick and she crouched down next to them. “I’m Darcy Lewis- Peter’s teacher.”

“I’m Tony. Two boys pushed him over.” Tony replied and Darcy frowned.

“I know which two you’re talking about. They’ve been bullying him for the past few months and it’s increased lately. We’ve been trying to sort it out, but it hasn’t escalated to physical before.” 

“I made you snowmen!” Peter cried to Tony. “I wanted to give them to you and Miss Pepper.” 

Tony glanced around to look for the paper snowmen Peter had made, but could see that they were all soggy and dirty and completely destroyed. 

“It’s okay buddy. You can show me how you made them, and we can all make them together. Does that sound okay?” 

“Mm hmm.” Peter cried as Tony continued to carefully prod at the boys palms. There was no blood but the one did look quite red and scratched.

“I’m so sorry Peter.” Darcy said softly as she held out Patrick. The penguins’ white fur was wet and matted down and Tony knew it would have to go into the washing machine. Peter took the penguin from Darcy’s hands and made a face when he felt the wet.

“It’s alright kiddo. We’ll put him in the washing machine and get him nice and clean again. Do you want to go?” 

Peter nodded and Tony stood up, bringing Peter up into his arms. He was lucky the kid was so small for his age that he was able to do so. Peter kept a hold of Patrick and his backpack as he put his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“Peter was so excited to make the snowmen for you and Miss Pepper. He’s such a sweetheart and the last few months have been so hard on him. His parents were truly wonderful people and they loved Peter very much.” Darcy said to Tony as she stood up next to him.

“I’m going to be telling the principal about this tomorrow. We’ve been trying to work through the bullying, but i’m not going to stand for any physical bullying at all.”

“Thank you.” Tony rubbed Peter’s back as the boy sniffed. 

“I’ll let you take him home but i’m telling the principal now.”

Tony nodded and headed back towards the car with Peter still in his arms. He opened the back door to the car and took Peter’s backpack before he set the little boy down in his booster seat. 

“Hey, it’s okay bug. We’ll go home and we’ll get Patrick in the wash and put a Nemo bandaid on your hand, and you can show me how to make the snowmen. I know we have some paper and scissors at the house, okay?” Tony asked Peter when the little boy didn’t want to let go of him. 

Patrick was discarded on the seat next to Peter as the tears continued to roll down his face. 

“It’s okay bug. I promise.” Tony said again and Peter nodded as he let go of Tony. Tony ruffled the kids hair before he stood back to close the door.

He could see Peter already starting to fall asleep, the emotions of the day hitting him, as he got into the car, turned on the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. He made the decision to skip the ice cream, sure that the kid wasn’t up to any more social interaction. 

It was only a 20 minute drive back to their apartment but Peter was fast asleep when Tony turned the car off. He sat there for a minute just watching the little boy, before he quietly undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the car, to grab Peter. 

The boy remained fast asleep, draped over Tony’s shoulder as he grabbed Patrick and then shut the door. He left the backpack, deciding he would come back to the car and get it later. 

Peter remained asleep as Tony headed up to the apartment and set him in his bed, taking a quick detour to grab the first aid kit.

He pulled the boys’ jacket and shoes off and then tucked him under the quilt, setting the giant stuffed spider next to him. 

A quick cleaning of Peter’s hand with a wipe was followed by a Bandaid with zero peeps from the 6-year-old, and then Tony turned the light off and headed out of the room, leaving the door open just a crack. He threw Patrick in the washing machine and turned it on before sitting down on the couch and pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

_ Pepper 3:01pm Honey? _

_ Pepper 3:05pm Is Peter okay?  _

_ Pepper 3:15pm Tony?  _

_Tony 3:50pm Hi, sorry. Two boys pushed him over and he scratched up his palm. Patrick is now in the wash and the paper snowmen he decorated for us got_ _destroyed. I told him he could show us how to make them and we’d make some more. He’s fast asleep now, was very upset. _

_ Pepper 3:51pm Oh poor thing, such a tough day. I’ll get some colored paper on my way home when I pick up the Italian. No ice cream trip? _

_ Tony 3:52pm No ice cream trip. _

_ Pepper 3:53pm I’ll get some on the way home. Vanilla? _

_Tony 3:54pm You are truly wonderful. I’m sure he’ll be awake by the time_ _you’re back._

-

“Mr Tony?” Peter’s little voice broke into Tony’s attention and he turned around to see Peter standing by his bedroom door. He looked half-asleep still, hair tousled up from sleep. 

“Hi bug.” Tony smiled as Peter headed over to him on the couch, the giant spider dragging behind him as he came over. 

“I have Patrick.”  Tony held out the penguin, having gotten him out of the dryer a few minutes prior. “He’s nice and clean.”

“Patrick!” Peter happily let go of the spider and climbed up onto the couch to grab a hold of the penguin. “He was all yucky before.”

“He was indeed, but he’s clean now.” 

Tony put his arm out and Peter instantly snuggled into Tony’s side, resting his head on Tony’s chest. 

Tony had basically given up on keeping the kid at arms distance, Peter had wormed his way into his heart and there was really no denying that anymore. He knew it was going to hurt like hell when Peter moved to California, but he knew there was no way he would be able to push Peter away now. He hated that Peter was being bullied, and needed to check with May if she knew it was happening. 

“How is your hand? Does it still hurt?” Tony asked and Peter shook his head. 

“No.” 

“Pete, have those boys been bothering you a lot?” 

“Mommy and Daddy just said they were jealous that I’m smart, and to just be nice back.” 

“They’re right there bug. You are definitely smarter than them. Have they ever pushed you before?” 

“No. They hid Patrick but Miss Lewis found him and made them say sorry.” Peter played with Patrick’s wings as he spoke to Tony and the man had to fight down against his surge of anger. 

“I’m sorry they’re so mean Pete.” 

“It’s okay.”

“It’s actually not-“ The rant Tony was about to go on was interrupted by Pepper walking through the door and Peter sat up quickly.

“Hi Miss Pepper!” 

“Hi Peter.” Pepper smiled as she set the bags she was carrying on the table. Tony could smell the Italian food and his stomach growled loudly.

“Mr Tony is hungry!” Peter called out and both Tony and Pepper laughed.

“I am!” Tony agreed as Peter hopped off the couch, and headed to the table. Pepper reached into one of the bags and lifted out a pint of vanilla ice cream.

“Ice Cream!” Peter gasped in delight and Tony smiled as he got up from the couch.

“That’s for after dinner buddy.” He said as he reached the table, and pulled the bag that he knew came from the craft store closer. “Want to take a look in there?” He motioned to Peter who stood on the chair he was closest to. 

“Careful.” Pepper warned as Peter reached into the bag and started pulling out construction paper. 

“Paper!” He squealed and Tony smiled.

“So we can all make snowmen. You can show us how to do them.” 

“You can put them on the fridge. Mommy and Daddy put my pictures on their fridge.” Peter announced as he pulled more paper out. 

Tony gave Pepper a look, knowing that she had gotten way more than was needed but Pepper just smiled. 

“After dinner kiddo.” 

A few hours later, the fridge was covered in snowmen. Peter had made 10 and wanted them all on the fridge while Pepper and Tony had only made one each. Tony had enjoyed just sitting and watching an ice cream fueled Peter giggling and cutting paper before he had fallen asleep right at the table. 

Tony had roused him and gotten him to brush his teeth and change into his pj’s before he crashed again. Now Tony was sitting on the couch with Pepper and Peter sprawled over his chest. He had been fussy when Tony had tried to get him to sleep in his own bed but had fallen asleep as soon as the three of them sat on the couches. 

“Poor thing had a tough day.” Pepper said softly as she brushed back the hair from Peter’s face. “Children can be so mean.” 

“His teacher seemed quite determined that she wouldn’t let it go.” Tony replied just as softly. 

“That’s good. He doesn’t deserve to be upset all the time. He’s been through a lot.” Pepper said. 

“More than most 6 year olds for sure.” Tony nodded. 

Peter shifted and whined softly on Tony’s chest. The man put his hand down and stroked his back lightly, and Peter settled down again. 

“He’s become quite attached to you.” Pepper commented and Tony sighed before nodding.

“He has.” 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might not be another update until the New Year now. I’m really busy at work (i’m typing and uploading this at a break at work) and then i’m going to visit my parents for the holidays and my laptop is not coming with me as i’m flying and that becomes a pain. 
> 
> Also, you might note that there is a total chapter count now. I’m still debating on the last chapter so it could change but that’s pretty much where we’re at.
> 
> We’re full steam ahead for some more angst, and there’s also some whump planned. (Whoops). 
> 
> I mean, we all pretty much know where this story is going... there’s still a bit to get there though.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s okay Mr Tony. You can hold the wall if you need to.” Peter turned fully around to face Tony, a bright grin on his face. 
> 
> “You little stinker!” Tony cried out and Peter let out a loud laugh before he skated further away from Tony.Tony managed to make it about three strides before he leaned back too far while trying to keep his balance, and ended up on his back on the ice. He lay there for a moment, sighing before he spotted Ned and Peter leaning over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Happy New Year.
> 
> I apologize ahead of time for this chapter.

“Hey, do you want to go get food with us?” Clint’s voice broke into Tony’s focus and he glanced over at him. He was sitting on one of the beds in the firehouse looking down at his phone. Happy had been sending some updates and pictures of the two boys spending time together, and Tony honestly couldn’t wait to go and join them. He hadn’t seen Peter since the day before and the kid had only been half awake when he had left. The two boys who had pushed him hadn’t been bothering him, but Tony couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before that started happening again. It was only a few more months of the school year and then Peter wouldn’t be going back to that school, but that didn’t mean that Tony wanted him to continue dealing with that for any more time at all.

The shift had been a quiet one with only one call that ended up being a false alarm, and he had spent a lot of time texting with May about Peter. She had let him know that they thought they had found a nanny who would work for Peter, and potentially a group for children who had lost their parents. She was still going to be back on Sunday, and would pick Peter up as scheduled. 

“Sorry Clint, I can’t.” Tony replied and Clint nodded back.

“The kid?”

“I’m going to go join him in ice skating.” Tony answered.

“Have you ever ice skated before?” Clint grinned.

“In college. Rhodey made me.” Tony replied. He didn’t feel like he needed to add that he had barely managed to stay on his feet the entire time, and that his best friend had spent the majority of the time hysterically laughing at him, as he skated around him. Peter had been so excited when Tony had mentioned the ice skating and spending time with Ned. He hadn’t been sure that Peter would really remember Ned, as he had been grieving in the hospital at the time that he had met the other boy, but he definitely did. 

“Okay, well don’t get hurt. It’s really fun for us to pretend that we need you here.” Clint replied and Tony glared at him.

“You aren’t funny.” He replied as Clint laughed at him. 

Tony told himself that he really wasn’t rushing to get to the ice skating rink, but he also wasn’t taking his time. Happy had sent numerous pictures while Tony had been on his way to get there, and told him Peter was waiting for him excitedly as he wanted to show him his skating.

“Mr Tony!” Peter saw him first as he approached the rink, and his face lit up from across the rink, before he pushed himself over to Tony. He was decked out in a warm jacket that Tony hadn’t seen before and a spider-themed hat and gloves that Tony couldn’t stop himself from buying when he had seen them. 

“Hi bug! How are you?” Tony asked as Peter got off the ice and threw his arms around Tony. “Are you having fun?”

“Yes! I missed you though.”

“Oh- uh, I missed you too Pete.” Tony replied. “Did Pepper make you breakfast this morning?” 

“Um hm.” Peter let his legs go and beamed up at him. “We had waffles. She let me have double chocolate chips!”

“Double?!” Tony dramatically gasped and Peter giggled. “That’s a lot of chocolate chips buddy!”

“It was SO yummy!”

“Hey Tony.” Happy walked over with Ned beside him. The other little boy had skates on like Peter, but Happy had his shoes on.

“No skating?” Tony asked the other man who grimaced.

“Definitely not. Tried it once, cannot stay on my feet, but I’ve been watching these two use up all their energy..” Happy replied. “I blame my sister for putting the idea in Ned’s head.”

“Don’t blame mom!” Ned protested from beside him and Tony tried to hide his smile. “You just aren’t graceful enough.”

“Hey!” Happy protested as both Ned and Peter giggled. 

“Are you ice skating with us?” Ned asked Tony.

“He is!” Peter replied happily before Tony could even respond and he nodded.

“I am. I just need to go get skates.” 

Tony found himself on the ice a few minutes later, holding onto the side of the wall. People of all ages were skating around him easily while he clutched the wall, trying desperately to keep his feet under himself. Peter was skating just in front of him, turning around every so often to look around at him.

“I don’t think he’s very graceful either.” Tony heard Ned say to Peter as he skated to his side, and the two little boys laughed.

“Hey!” Tony protested as he pushed himself off the wall, determined to show the kids that he was indeed graceful, not really succeeding as he flailed slightly .

“It’s okay Mr Tony. You can hold the wall if you need to.” Peter turned fully around to face Tony, a bright grin on his face. 

“You little stinker!” Tony cried out and Peter let out a loud laugh before he skated further away from Tony.Tony managed to make it about three strides before he leaned back too far while trying to keep his balance, and ended up on his back on the ice. He lay there for a moment, sighing before he spotted Ned and Peter leaning over him.

“Mr Tony! Are you okay?!” Peter cried out as he looked at Tony’s face. He knelt down next to Tony and put a glove-covered hand on Tony’s face. He looked close to tears so Tony put his own hand up over Peter’s.

“I’m okay Pete.”

“I’m sorry I made you fall!” Peter replied anxiously as his eyes welled up. 

“Hey hey.” Tony pushed himself up so he was sitting on the ice, ignoring how the cold seeped through his jeans. “You didn’t bug. I’m pretty clumsy. Don’t apologize.”

“I’m so sorry!” Ned sat down next to them on the ice, his own face looking anxious.

“Hey, stop apologizing you two. I’m fine. That wasn’t your fault. Now, let’s get back up and continue skating.” Tony patted Peter’s small face and then pulled himself up as he got a hold of the wall again. The little boys both remained on the ice for a moment before standing back up and skating to where Tony was. Peter opened his mouth again and Tony leaned as far as he dared before putting his hand over Peter’s mouth.

“I’m fine bug. I promise.” He grimaced a moment later as Peter licked his hand, and he yanked it away to wipe it on his jeans. “Gross!’

“Mommy always hated when I did that.” Peter smiled slightly. “But Daddy thought it was funny.” 

\--

“Has Pete’s bullying problem stopped?” Steve asked Tony a few days later as the two of them sat on the truck testing out the truck and equipment. The truck had been suffering, and it needed to get sorted before anything else could go wrong with it. The others were all around the house doing various things.

“I don’t think so.” Tony replied sighing. “But I know his teacher is looking out for him, and not letting him wait by himself to get picked up.” 

“Kids are mean.” Steve replied as he checked off items on his clipboard. 

“Bucky told me all about your childhood. You couldn’t seem to stay out of fights.” Tony responded. He had mentioned Peter being bullied and pretty much the entire team had had opinions about it. Bucky had informed him of how Steve had been bullied relentlessly but had never backed down, choosing to fight back. Bucky had been forced to step in on numerous occasions and taken a fair few beatings himself.

“That’s because I didn’t know how to back down when people said things to me and take the higher road. I was an idiot.” Steve shook his head as he set the clipboard down. “Bucky saved me more times than I like to admit. Can you check the hose? Scott mentioned it was acting up earlier.” 

Tony nodded as he opened the truck door and hopped down from his seat, intent on going to where the hose was to take a look at it. 

“Hey Tony.” Scott called out as he entered into the truck bay. “Peter is here.” 

“What?” Tony asked as he glanced down at his watch. “He’s supposed to be at school. How on earth did he get here?” 

“He seems upset.” 

Tony frowned as he headed over to Scott to head into the main area of the firehouse. Most people came in the entrance to the truckbay but they did have another entrance in the main area. He glanced back at Steve who just motioned with his hands for him to go, and he headed out to the main area with Scott. 

“Pete?” He called out when he could see the kid, and the small amount of people around him. Peter was sitting on one of the tables holding Patrick, and his face was pale with red eyes. Peter glanced up to see Tony and his face crumpled even more. 

“Buddy? What’s wrong? How did you get here?”

“I walked.” Peter replied as Tony reached the table and put a hand out to Peter. It was ignored by Peter and he frowned as he let it fall back down to his side.

“It’s cold outside buddy. Why did you walk here? Does your aunt know?”

“I left school.” 

“I see that. Why?”

“Did you know my auntie and uncle were taking me away?” 

Tony’s felt like his heart stopped. He hadn’t been expecting that question, and he didn’t know how Peter knew. 

“What?” He moved to sit down next to Peter and the 6 year old shifted away from him. 

“I heard Auntie May on the phone this morning. She said your name.” 

Tony sighed as he sat down on the table, noticing that Peter shifted even further away from him. The little boys’ chest was heaving as tears poured down his face and Tony wanted nothing more than to give him a hug.Judging by the way Peter kept shifting away from him, that wasn’t going to happen.

“Did you know?” 

Tony sighed again, he couldn’t lie to Peter.

“Yeah buddy. I knew.” 

Peter burst into tears even harder as his chest started to heave even more, his breaths starting to come out in wheezes. 

“Hey, you need to take some breaths kid.” Tony tried as he shifted closer to Peter and put an arm out, but the 6-year-old pushed it away, and Tony let it fall back down to the table.

“Why- don’t-you want me here?” Peter cried out and Tony felt the tears spring to his eyes. He was well aware of the others hovering around, trying to give them space but also listening in.

“Buddy, I do. I love having you around, and everyone else does too.” 

“But you don’t want me here? You want me to go.”

“I would love for you to stay here Pete. But you belong with your aunt and uncle. They can take care of you.” 

Peter’s only response was to wheeze and Tony looked up to see Wanda. He mouthed asthma to her, and she nodded before heading out to the bay. He hoped she was going to get an inhaler for Peter before the breathing became a more serious problem.

“Hey bud, can you take a breath?”

“I want my mommy and daddy.” Peter wheezed out as he hugged himself. He looked so tiny that Tony couldn’t help himself for putting his arms out again to hug Peter. He got close before Peter pushed him away again. “I don’t want you.”

There was silence for a few moments, only broken by Peter’s wheezes which were getting worse by the minute. When Wanda came back in, she held up an inhaler and Tony sighed in relief. He didn’t know if Peter would take the inhaler from him,so he motioned to Wanda to try. She walked over and knelt down in front of Peter.

“Hey Peter.” She said softly as she smiled at him. “I think your chest might be hurting a little bit right now, isn’t it?” 

Peter nodded and Wanda held out the inhaler.

“Do you think you can take some deep breaths from this? It’ll make your chest feel a lot better.” 

Peter took the inhaler from Wanda, leaving Patrick lying on the table, and stuck it in his mouth, pushing on it to release the medication before taking a few deep breaths.

“That’s great Peter. Is that helping?” Wanda asked after a moment and Peter nodded. He took a few more breaths and then held the inhaler back out to Wanda. She took it and set it on the table next to him. “I’m going to leave it there just in case you feel like you might need it again, okay?”

“Tony?!” There was a slamming of a door and then May rushed in, looking frantic. Her face changed when she saw Peter sitting at the table and she hurried over to him to give him a hug. He didn’t reciprocate and she broke away from him after a few seconds, turning to Tony.

“The school called and asked me where he was. I thought he might be here. Did you pick him up?” 

“Nope. He walked here.” Tony replied as he half grimaced at May. He wanted to let the tears he was holding back go, but he couldn’t in front of May. 

“Peter, you walked here? Why honey?” May turned back to Peter who shrugged.

“Wanted to ask Tony about California.” 

“Oh honey. You should have told me, we could have called him.” May replied. “That wasn’t very safe for you to walk all the way here. Miss Darcy should have kept an eye on you.”

“She was getting our snacks.” 

Tony saw May’s eyes zone in on the inhaler that was sitting next to Peter and she looked back at Tony.

“His breathing was getting wheezy. He’s okay now.” 

“Okay honey. Should we go home? I know your backpack is at school, but we have some inhalers at home and we can get the backpack tomorrow.” May held out a hand to Peter and he ignored it, but did jump down from the table, leaving Patrick behind, and stared at the ground. “Do you want to say goodbye to Mr Tony?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Why not honey? You won’t see him until later in the week.”

Peter looked up then, teary eyes glancing up at Tony. “I don’t want to come any more.”

“Honey, what?” May glanced at Tony who felt sick before she knelt down to Peter’s level. “You love the firehouse and Mr Tony.”

“No.” Peter replied. “I don’t want to come anymore. I don’t want to see Mr Tony.”

“Okay, we can talk about that, but should we go home for now?” May stood back up, and the look she sent Tony was pure apology. “Don’t forget Patrick!” 

“I don’t want Patrick.” Peter pushed away May’s hand that was holding out the penguin and Patrick fell to the floor. May made a move to go and pick it up and Peter stomped his foot. “I don’t want it.”

“Are you sure?” May asked and Peter stomped his foot again.

“I told you. I don’t want Patrick. I don’t want to come here.”

Tony could only sit on the table as he watched May and Peter walk out of the firehouse. May turned around once before they left, but Peter didn’t. 

There was complete silence after the door shut and Tony stared at the ceiling, swallowing rapidly as he tried to keep the tears in. His heart was pounding and he felt like he was going to be sick. He hadn’t felt this bad in a long time, since he had been told that his parents had died. The pain had been unbearable back then and he never imagined that he would be feeling it again. He knew he would have eventually said goodbye to Peter but not this abruptly and not this soon, he hadn’t prepared himself for that. As he stared at the ceiling, tears started to escape from his eyes and trailed down his face. He bit his lip harshly to prevent himself from making any noise. 

“Tony-” Clint started and then stopped himself quickly. 

“What just happened?” Scott whispered.

The sound of the siren going off interrupted any response and they all jumped in surprise. Tony took a shuddering breath as he wiped at his eyes and got down from the table.

“Nope.” Steve pointed a finger at him and Tony started. He hadn’t even realized that Steve had come in. “You are not okay right now. You stay here.” 

“Steve-” Tony tried to protest. He needed something to take his mind off of what had just happened. 

“No Tony. You aren’t in any state to go fight a fire right now. You are staying here.” 

Steve took off through the doors following the others, and within a few moments Tony was left alone in the firehouse with his thoughts.

He headed towards his locker, meaning to go and get his phone to text Pepper. He made it halfway there before the tears really hit. He bent over against the wall and covered his face with his hands as the tears erupted and the sobs came out. 

“Hey.” Natasha’s voice broke into his sobbing and he jerked up surprised. “We weren’t needed.” She explained quickly as she put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. 

“Sorry.” He apologized as he wiped his eyes and she shook her head.

“You have quite literally nothing to apologize for Tony. Nothing.” Natasha answered as she squeezed Tony’s shoulder gently. “We all connected with that kid, and you weren’t the one who kept California from him.”

“He doesn’t want to see me again Nat. He hates me. He left that stuffed penguin that he loves.” Tony rubbed his hand over his eyes as he spoke, standing himself back up so he was leaning against the wall. 

“He’s upset Tony. He’s only 6. He lost his beloved parents, he got attached to you and now he learns he’s being taken away from the only life he’s known. He’s been through a lot, I seriously doubt that he hates you.” 

“It doesn’t matter much anyways. I’m not going to see him again. I’m going to text Pepper. We should donate the things from the guestroom if we can.” Tony pushed away from the wall and Natasha, heading for the lockers to get his phone, missing the look that Natasha sent his way. 

As he pulled his phone out, he noticed messages from Pepper and May.

_ May Parker 9:45am Tony I’m so sorry. Peter overheard me talking to Ben last night. We talked about it and he seemed okay. I didn’t know he’d come to you like that. He had such a wonderful time with you the past week, he wouldn’t stop talking about it. I’m sure he’ll change his mind and you’ll see him later this week. I’ll let you know. _

_ Pepper 9:50am Hon, May texted that something happened?  _

He pulled up Pepper’s contact to call her, the tears starting to roll down his cheeks again.

“Honey?” Pepper answered almost right away, concern in her voice. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m okay.” Tony choked out as his chest started heaving again. 

“What’s happened? Is everyone else okay?”

“Peter doesn’t want to see me anymore.” 

“What? Tony, what happened?” Pepper’s kind voice just made the tears worse and Tony had to pause a moment before he replied.

“He found out about California and walked here from school. May showed up, and he told me he didn’t want to see me anymore, and he doesn’t want Patrick anymore. He left Patrick here on the table.” Tony took a shuddering breath and he heard Pepper exclaim on the other end of the line. “He’s gone Pepper.”

“Honey, he’s not gone. He’s just upset. That child adores you. He’s been through a lot.” Pepper replied and Tony slightly scoffed.

“That’s what Nat said too.”

“We’re smart women. Tony, I promise you that you’ll see him again soon.”

“You didn’t see him Pep. He was so upset.” Tony replied. “I think we should donate the items from the guest room now. I know we were going to eventually, but it’s not like we have any reason to keep them any longer. I’m sure there’s someone who needs stuff.” 

There was a pause on the line before Pepper sighed and then replied. “Okay honey, i’ll take care of it. I know the company has some charities so I’ll ask around. I have to go but I’ll see you tonight. I love you honey. It’ll be okay.” 

“Love you too.”

Tony hung up the phone and threw it back onto the locker shelf before sitting down on the bench and putting his head in his hands. It didn’t matter what Nat, May and Pepper said- Tony didn’t think Peter would come back, and he wouldn’t see him again. He had made a mistake letting Peter in, and letting himself get hurt again. 

He wouldn’t do it again, wouldn’t let anyone else in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes worry that I write Peter too mature for his age. Please let me know if anything ever seems too old, and I can absolutely adjust it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all- 
> 
> AUTHOR WARNING: PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS.  
This chapter deals with a building collapse, and Tony being inside of it, and accepting that he is going to die. He's not going to-obviously- but if this in any way bothers you, please take care of yourself and don't read this chapter. You will still absolutely be able to continue the story with the next chapter- just know that the next chapter will deal with the recovery of the injuries sustained in this chapter. But you will not be lost if you don't read this chapter.  
I really want you all to take care of yourself so please please don't read this chapter if there is any chance this might bother you. You can read all the way until they go to the fire, but not beyond that. 
> 
> This was planned from the very beginning of this story, and I knew I was going to whump Tony, I just didn't anticipate being this mean to him.

May 2:32pm  _ He still doesn’t want to see you. He gets upset when I even mention your name. I’m really sorry Tony. He doesn’t even really talk to me much anymore, and his teacher said he’s even quieter in class now. He asked me to delete your phone number from the cell phone I gave him. _

Tony sighed as he threw the phone down onto the table in front of him, barely missing the bowl of soup in front of him. It had been a month since he had seen Peter and although May had been sending him updates, he hadn’t really been responding to any of her texts. He wanted to know how Peter was doing, but at the same time he didn’t. He wouldn’t tell May that though, he knew the other guys at the House enjoyed the small updates Tony shared, even if they didn’t specifically tell Tony that. He had walked in on Steve, Sam and Bucky having a conversation one afternoon and he knew they had been careful with the subject around him after that.

“Honey?” Pepper sat back down at the table and he looked up at her. The two of them were in a restaurant having lunch before Pepper went back to work. She had run to the bathroom and Tony had taken the moment to check his phone, half wishing that he hadn’t.

“May.” Tony replied, motioning to the phone and Pepper sighed. 

“No luck?” 

Tony shook his head and Pepper set her hand lightly on Tony’s on the table. Tony half smiled at her before she rubbed it gently. He was so grateful for her. 

The few nights after Peter had left, Tony had been a mess and Pepper had kept it together and kept him together- he had only missed one shift at the House, but he was pretty sure that Steve and Fury would have made him leave if he had shown up anyways. He hadn’t been such a mess since he had lost his parents. Losing Peter had been different from losing his parents, the kid was still alive, but it was no less painful, and it felt like his heart had been torn apart.

Pepper had taken care of getting rid of all of the items that they had gotten Peter, and the guest room was completely empty again. May hadn’t mentioned receiving anything so he had assumed that Pepper had just donated everything. He hadn’t asked, and she hadn’t said anything.

“It’s okay.” Pepper said softly and Tony just nodded. He picked his spoon back up to dig into the soup he had previously discarded, but left the phone face down on the table. 

-

“Cassie decided she needs a new phone yesterday. Apparently hers isn’t good enough anymore.” Scott announced as he stirred the chili on the kitchen stove. “I told her mom she should be in charge of getting her a new one if she really wants it, but this teenager is just becoming too much of a teenager for my taste.”

“Scott, I love you and Cassie, but I literally do not care about anything except that chili you are taking your sweet time making. I am starving, and if we get called out to another call before I get to eat that chili, it will not be pretty.” Clint called out from the couch, and Viz barked. “Viz is in agreement.”

“Teenage girls are the worst.” Bucky scooted up next to Scott and grabbed a wooden spoon to try the chili, but Scott smacked his hand and the spoon away.

“What on earth do you know about teenage girls?” Scott asked Bucky who dropped the spoon back on the counter with an overly dramatic sigh. “Unless you have some secret teenage daughter that none of us know about.”

“I was a teenage boy Scott.” Bucky replied dryly. “I do remember how teenage girls act.”

“That was like 50 years ago for you.” Sam shot out and Bucky grabbed the spoon to throw it at him across the room.

“I am 35 years old!”

The spoon missed Sam and hit the chair right next to Tony, who had been watching the entire thing unfold. 

“Hey!” He protested, as the others all laughed. Viz jumped off the couch and ran over to Tony. He stopped in front of the spoon, and started barking at it.

“Yep Viz, that is so scary. Thank you so much for your protection there buddy.” Tony teased the dog and Viz backed up from the spoon. He turned to Tony and wagged his tail before jumping up onto the couch and straight at Tony’s face. “Stop it you dummy.”

“Dummy? I don’t think I have ever heard you use that word before Tony.” Steve walked into the room and Viz jumped down to greet Steve. The captain bent down to give Viz a fuss and the dogs’ tail wagged happily at the attention.

“Okay- chili is-” Scott’s proclamation was interrupted by the siren and Clint punched the back of the couch. 

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Clint shouted as he got up from the couch. “We were this close. This close.” 

“Three-alarm High-rise fire on 34th and 7th. Engine’s 32 and 6 on route with squad 4. Multiple ambulances on route.” The announcement came over the speakers, and Tony stood up. 

They hadn’t been called out to a such a bg high-rise fire since Steve’s accident the year before. The accident where they had almost lost him. Tony glanced up to Steve to see the captain take a deep breath before steeling himself and heading towards the truck. 

“I’m eating so much of that when we get back here!” Clint called out to Scott who quickly turned the stove off and put a lid on the chili.

“Do not touch that!” Scott called out to Viz as he joined the others all at the truck, throwing his gear on. Viz just whipped his tail on the ground in response. “I’ll know!”

Tony grabbed his jacket and helmet off the hook and jumped into the truck. He realized his phone was still on the table where he had set it, but he didn’t have the time to go back for it. He had been in the middle of texting Pepper, but she would know him ceasing communication abruptly would be a call, and he’d respond after. He shut his door with the others, and then Scott was driving them out of the station, the ambulance close behind. 

When they reached the fire, it was chaos.

Tony jumped out of the truck, throwing his helmet on and then his jacket. The fire was raging in the top of the high-rise, there were numerous firefighters and trucks spread around, and civilians huddled around. 

“Engine 12!” Fury’s voice barked out and Tony turned to see him standing next to his car, parked behind the truck. “You have the third and fourth floors. They should be clear, but get in there and get them checked before that fire makes it way down.”

“Sam, Tony- you’re with me on three. Scott, Clint, Bucky- go to four. Be quick, get it cleared out and get out.” Steve instructed and the men all nodded. Tony stepped closer to Steve with Sam while Clint, Bucky and Scott all headed in another direction.

“Steve!” A female voice called out and the three men all turned around. Tony saw Captain Carter headed towards them, her face sooty. “It’s a mess in there, even on the lower floors. Be careful.” 

“Kiss her.” Sam muttered from behind Tony so only the man would hear him, and he let out a laugh. Steve turned around to give them a glare before he stuck his own helmet on his head, and put on his mask. 

“Lets go. Thanks Captain.” 

Tony smiled at Peggy as they passed by and he took his helmet off briefly to put his own mask on, before replacing the helmet and making sure his jacket was done up. He followed Sam and Steve through the door and instantly into the smoke and heat.

“Stairs!” Steve called out and motioned towards the stairwell closest to them. 

They passed by a few people on their way down as they headed up the stairs, and had made the third floor when they came across a young woman crying and gasping for air.

“Hey.” Sam knelt down next to her and she latched on almost immediately, hysterical.

“Take her down, then come back up.” Steve instructed Sam and the other man nodded. He lifted the woman into his arms and turned around to head back down to the main level. “Tony?”

Tony followed Steve through the door and into the third level. There were numerous apartments to clear and they started down the hallway.

“Fire department!” Tony yelled as he and Steve explored apartments, making their way through the smoke and heat. The fire hadn’t quite reached them yet, but there was still very heavy smoke, and visibility was next to none. 

The two of them had cleared out the majority of the apartments, hearing updates from the others, when Fury suddenly yelled out.

“Get out. Get out now!”

Tony turned to where he had last seen Steve, the two of them on opposite sides of the apartment they were currently in when the beams above Tony started crashing down. He ducked away from the first one, losing all idea of where Steve was and then it all went dark.

*

“Tony!” A voice yelling out brought Tony back from the darkness. He groaned slightly, the sound of a shrill alarm pulsing through his aching head. An alarm that he blearily recognized as the alarm on his jacket, the one that sounded when a fireman had been still too long. 

“Tony!” 

“Come on Tony! Please respond.”

“Captain, do you have eyes on him? Do you have eyes on Stark?”

“I can’t see him through the smoke! It’s too hot in here, and the beams came down between us. Tony, please!” 

Tony could feel wetness trickling down his face, and he became aware that his helmet was missing, and the mask on his face was cracked. Something heavy was lying across his legs, pinning him down and his shoulder was sending shooting pain through his chest. The alarm was still going, and he groaned again. 

He moved his uninjured arm slightly, and the alarm instantly ceased it’s shrillness, the pain in his head receding slightly.

“Tony!” A voice cried out nearby and he belatedly recognized it as Steve’s. “Tony!”

“I’m here.” Tony called out rasping. He pulled the broken mask off his face, mistakenly trying to get a breath in, and ended up with a lungful of smoke. The alarm stopped beeping and he heard a crash nearby.

“Tony!”

“Steve.”

“Tony, I can’t get to you! Can you move? The fire jumped multiple floors, and there’s too much heat and smoke.” Steve cried out. 

Tony attempted to push himself up on his good arm but the shooting pain through his head and other shoulder had him lying flat on his back moments later.

“I can’t.” He called back through gasps of pain. He tried to wiggle his feet and panicked when there was no response. He tried again, and still received no response. He leaned down with his good hand to try to push the wood off of his legs, but had to give up a moment later, pain through his chest. “Steve, I can’t move my legs.”

“What?!”

“I can’t move my legs.” Tony accidentally took a deep breath and inhaled a huge amount of smoke. It headed straight down to his lungs, and he erupted into coughs. The pain was intense throughout his chest, and it caused Tony’s vision to black out momentarily.

When he came back to himself, Steve was shouting his name again. It took a moment for him to understand that Steve wasn’t talking to him, but that the radios were going.

“I am NOT leaving him Chief.”

“Captain, you need to get out. The building is going to go.”

“Chief, I can get to him. I can get him out. Please. Please. Just give me five minutes. I can get to him.”

“Steve, you don’t have five minutes. Rogers, please. You know I don’t like leaving any man behind, but this building is going to go. I cannot lose my two best men.” 

“I’m coming in.”

“Barton, you will not go in.” 

“Sorry Chief.” 

“Barnes!”

“Tony! Tony, call out to me please.” 

The voices were all a jumble in Tony’s mind, as he struggled to come back out of the darkness, but one thing struck him for sure, he wasn’t going to get out of this. 

All he could think about was Pepper, and Peter- the two greatest things he had had in his life, and how much he wanted to see them again. He thought about his cellphone on the table in the firehouse, and Pepper likely waiting for him to reply. A reply that wouldn’t come, how the next thing Pepper would hear that Tony hadn’t made it out of the fire.

And Peter, the 6 year old who had stolen his heart, who had lost his parents in a fire, and now Tony was about to die in a fire. 

The voices were still a jumble on the walkie but Tony wanted to say something. He took a breath and forced himself to move his hand to put a hand on the button and push it down.

“Steve.”

“Tony! Tony, we’re coming. We’re going to get you out.”

“No, you aren’t.” Tony replied. He knew he was trapped and the conditions were only getting worse. If they were still in the high-rise, they wouldn’t be for long.

“Shut up. Yes we are.” That was Clint’s voice that broke in. “Barnes and I are coming.” 

Tony coughed as he pressed down on the button again. He needed to say something. “Can you tell Pepper, and Peter something for me?”

“Shut up. You’re telling them yourself. Put your mask back on, now.” Tony wasn’t all there, the darkness closing in around him again as the pain and smoke started to overwhelm him, but he could recognize the panic in Clint’s voice.

“Tell them, tell Pepper I love her and I’m sorry to leave her. Please.”

There was silence on the walkie for a moment and Tony opened his mouth to say more, when Steve answered.

“I will.”

“And tell- Peter-” Tony broke off for a minute as he coughed. “Tell him i’m sorry too- and- he’s a good boy. He’s- he’s a good boy.” Tears trickled out of Tony’s eyes as he spoke, both from the smoke and his approaching death.

“I will. But Tony, we’re going to get you out. We know where you are, we just need to get there.” Steve sounded breathless and panicked and Tony let his hand slip off the walkie. He closed his eyes against the darkness and let himself slip away into the dark, ignoring the voices he heard screaming his name.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack- i’m so sorry it took me so long to update this. I had a really hard time with this chapter, and still don’t love how it came out.
> 
> This is totally full of medical inaccuracies as i’m aware someone might not recover from a serious head wound that quickly, but just go with it for the sake of the story.

Tony floated for a while but the next thing he knew was pain and voices.

His head pounded and his entire body hurt. He could tell he was being moved, and he blearily opened his eyes open slightly. He couldn’t move his head and his vision was blurry but he could just make out people gathered around him, one of them looking down at him. 

“Stark?” The person called out, and Tony whined low, unable to do more. There was something on his face digging into his cheeks painfully and he wanted it off. He tried to move an arm but it just sent shooting pain through his arm, and he let out another involuntary whine. 

“Hey, don’t move Stark..” The voice spoke again. Tony had zero idea who it was leaning above him, unable to see more than a blur. “You’re going to be okay. You just need to stay awake, okay? Keep both eyes open.” 

The blur was making Tony’s head hurt even more than he thought possible, and despite the persons’ instructions, he closed his eyes again in an attempt to stop the pain. 

“Stark, both eyes open.”

-

His head was sending throbbing pain through him in pulses, spreading through his entire body as he breathed. It hurt to even take breaths but the air running through his lungs was clean. He took too deep of a breath and immediately started coughing. Tony was beyond exhausted and the pain of the coughing brought tears to his eyes, spilling out from under his closed eyelids.

“Honey, you’re okay.” A soft voice said as hands ran across Tony’s face. “You’re okay.” 

Even in his pain-filled state, Tony recognized that voice as Pepper’s, which meant he wasn’t dead. 

He took a few more shallow breaths as he tried to get the coughing under control before opening his eyes slowly. The world was blurry around him and he tried blinking a few times, frowning when the blurriness didn’t clear up. He tried to bring an arm up to them, but found that they felt too heavy and he was too lethargic to move. 

“Stay still sweetheart.” Pepper said above him and Tony felt her take his hand gently and grip it in hers. “You’re still hurt badly honey.”

Tony moved his head slowly in the direction that he thought Pepper could be, and was rewarded with a blur of color, including the red of her long hair.

“Pep-” He mumbled out, his mouth extremely dry and coated in a bad taste. 

“Here honey.” Tony could hear movement and then a straw was placed into his mouth. He took a sip and lukewarm water went down his throat, helping with some of the dryness and the taste. After a few sips, the cup was taken away and Pepper’s hand took hold of his again. Tony blinked a few more times, trying to get his vision to come back so he could get a proper look at his fiance. The fiance that he didn’t think he was ever going to see again, the fiance that he hadn’t even gotten to give a proper goodbye to.

“Pep.” He tried to get out, his voice still hoarse.

“I’m here honey.” Pepper’s voice sounded watery and weak to Tony, and he desperately wanted to see her properly. 

“I can’t see you.” Tony got out and Pepper stroked the back of his hand gently.

“The doctors said that your vision would be affected for a while honey.” Pepper replied softly. “I told the nurses you’re awake, and they’ll be here in a minute. We didn’t know when you’d wake up.” 

Right as Pepper finished talking, Tony heard the door open and he shifted his head minutely over in the direction of where he thought the door was. 

“He’s talking, but his vision isn’t back.” Pepper’s voice said and then there were people on each of Tony’s sides, making noise and prodding Tony. 

“Tony.” A voice on Tony’s left said, and he glanced over to the blurry figure. “It’s Bruce. Can you see anything, or is the vision completely gone?” 

“It’s blurry.” Tony replied. Having his eyes open with the blurriness was hurting his head, and he closed his eyes again.

“Tony. Are you awake?” Bruce asked and Tony mumbled. He was still so tired and heavy feeling.

“You took a severe knock to the head Tony, and it’s affecting your vision. But the fact that it is blurry is a good thing, and it will come back with a little time, and some more rest. I know you’re tired, and I would like you to get some more rest so I'm going to give you a mild sedative for now to ensure that you rest some more.”

There was a sharp jab in Tony’s arm, and then the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion running through him. He shifted slightly closer to where Pepper was, and then he was asleep.

-

When Tony came back to awareness, he could feel warmth at his side. 

He opened his eyes slowly, pleased when there was only a little blurriness, and he could see much more clearly. His head still hurt, but nothing near where it had been, although he didn’t know if that was because he was on anything. A glance down the bed showed one bandaged up leg, and a smattering of bruises on the other one as well as a sling on one of his shoulders.

Tony glanced down to see Peter lying curled up next to him, his small head on a pillow and Patrick clutched into his chest. A small blanket was half draped over him and one of the little boys’ hands was clutching at Tony’s hospital gown as he slept. 

“He’s been there since May brought him in a few hours ago.” A voice commented and Tony glanced up to see Steve and Clint sitting in chairs by the bed.

“Hey Tony.” Steve said as he smiled, and Clint frowned.

“Tony, kindly don’t ever do that again.We thought we were going to lose you man.”

“What happened?” Tony had zero recollection of what had happened after telling Steve goodbye, until he had woken up to Pepper.

“We managed to get you out before the whole building went, but you weren’t responding. Your helmet came off in that initial collapse, and you had a critical head wound as well as a messed up leg and some other injuries including your shoulder.You had lost a lot of blood, and they lost you twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.” Steve hesitated slightly before he continued. “They told us not to expect you to make it out of surgery, I called Pepper and May, and they got here right before Bruce told us you’d defied the odds and made it out of surgery. You were in a coma for four days, and then another two days with the sedation.”

“We were all here those first few days, but once we knew you were going to pull through, we started taking shifts. Steve and I are supposed to be here for another-” Clint glanced down at his watch before continuing- “3 hours and then it’s Bucky and Sam.”

“Where’s Pepper?” Tony asked. He was glad to see Steve and Clint, but he wanted to see his fiance. He could see properly now, and he wanted to see Pepper.

“I told you that would be the first thing he asked.” Clint grinned at Steve, and Tony almost growled his impatience, causing Clint to look back at him. “Geez, unconscious for nearly 6 days and that’s the welcome I get from you? She and May were here a little while ago, but it’s the middle of the night and Pepper needed to get some sleep. They are in the hotel across the road, but we can call and get Pepper here if you really need her.” 

Tony shook his head and glanced out the window, confirming that it was indeed nighttime and it was dark outside. He wanted Pepper to get some rest, he could survive without her for a little longer if it meant she was getting some rest. 

He looked back down at Peter, tears springing to his eyes as he looked at the little boy. Peter was lying on his side, with one side of his face scrunched into the pillow, but Tony could still see that the skin around his eyes was puffy. 

“He’s been distraught since he heard.” Steve said and Tony glanced up at him before looking back down at Peter. “He wasn’t allowed in until a few hours ago, but he refused to leave the hospital, even when May had to work so we’ve been looking after him, Hope, Bruce and that neighbor Thor included. When they let him in here, he immediately climbed up there, trying his very best not to and I quote Peter “bump any of your ouchies”, and then had a complete meltdown before he fell asleep.” 

“He has Patrick.” Tony remarked and Steve smiled.

  
“Pepper said she didn’t get rid of any of the items you got for Peter, and she made sure to hold onto Patrick. Happy had him, and he brought him over here the first night. Peter hasn’t let go of him since.” 

“Be prepared for the waterworks when he wakes up.” Clint said. “He think it’s his fault you got hurt. Because he was mean to you.”

“What?!” Tony jolted in shock, and then groaned when it hurt all over. Both Steve and Clint jumped up from their chairs and rushed over to the bed to push him down.

“Don’t move. You’re pretty much bruise upon bruise.” Steve told him as he gently pushed Tony’s shoulder down. 

Tony moving had shifted pretty much the entire bed, and Peter shifted before his eyes opened, and he looked up at Tony sleepily. His eyes widened when he saw Tony’s eyes and then he burst into tears.

“Told you.” Clint muttered and Tony gave him a glare before he looked back down at Peter, who had sat up and had Patrick pressed into his eyes as he cried. 

“Oh Pete.” Tony whispered. He gingerly moved his uninjured arm up and put his hand on the top of Peter’s head. The little boy seemed to collapse in on himself as his knees gave out and he ended up back on the bed on his stomach, wailing as he did so. 

“Buddy.” Tony tried after a few minutes of the wailing, trying to draw Peter’s attention. The little boys’ breathing was becoming raspy and Tony was growing alarmed. Steve seemed to come to the same conclusion, and he reached over to pick Peter up off the bed, to try to sit him up properly to allow his chest to expand. 

“This happened earlier too. We have his inhaler if he needs it.” 

Tony managed to get a hold of Peter’s face under his chin and the little boy looked at him through wet, swollen, red eyes. 

“Hi kiddo.” Tony smiled and Peter just gulped. “Can you take some breaths?” 

Tony’s arm ached as he held Peter’s face, but he was far more concerned about the little boy than himself. Peter nodded, and took a few deep breaths at Tony’s command, the tears and the raspiness fading away, before he lay himself back down at Tony’s side, his face firmly in Tony’s vision.

“Mister Tony.” Peter said shakily and Tony smiled at him.

“Hi bug.” 

“I thought you were going to die, like my parents.” 

“That must have been pretty scary huh?”

“Uh huh.”

“It was pretty scary for me too. I thought that I wasn’t going to get to see you or Pepper again, and that made me very sad.” 

“Auntie May said that you were a fighter.” Peter said sounded very serious and it made Tony smile involuntarily.

“She did, did she?” 

“Uh huh. She said that even though you were hurt, that you wouldn’t die cuz you’re strong and kind and loving, even though I was mean to you.”

“Pete-” Tony started but Peter cut him off.

“I’m sorry I was mean to you, and I told you I never wanted to see you again. I didn’t mean it, I don’t hate you. Miss Pepper gave me Patrick, and I missed him and you. I did. I promise.” The tears were slowly trickling down Peter’s face again, and Tony reached over to wipe them off, ignoring the pain in his arm.

“I know bug. You were just upset, and you had every right to be. Patrick and I both missed you too kid. It’s okay.”

“Can I- can I come back to the Firehouse? Before I move?” Peter asked.

“Of course you can Peter.” Tony replied and Peter’s anxious little face shifted into pure relief.

“Although Mister Tony won’t be there for a little while. He’s pretty hurt and needs to rest.” Clint put in and Peter’s face grew anxious again.

“I can help you get better!” He stated. “I used to help Mommy when she didn’t feel well.”

“Oh that would be great Peter. I’m sure Miss Pepper would love your help with Mister Tony. He can be a pain when he gets hurt.” 

“Good.” Peter put his head down on the pillow next to Tony and gathered Patrick back in his arms before he pulled the discarded blanket back up to his shoulders.

“Going back to sleep bug?” Tony asked, amused by the kids’ actions.

“Uh huh.” Peter replied as he reached out to grab the edge of Tony’s gown and clenched it in his fist.

“I’m not going anywhere kid. I’ll be right here.” Tony told him and Peter nodded, but didn’t loosen up the grip. 

“You should take his lead and get some more rest. It’ll likely be Bucky and Sam here when you wake up.” Steve instructed Tony and he nodded. His head and arms were starting to throb again, and he starting to feel tired. He shifted down slightly on the pillow and put his hand on Peter’s back before closing his eyes.

“Oh and Tony- don’t ever tell me to say goodbye to your family again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I'm still so blown away with how many of you out there are enjoying this story!
> 
> I'm so sorry I'm not updating as quickly as much at the moment- I am currently working b/w 50-60 hours at work, as well as trying to work on my Irondad Big Bang which I am seriously struggling with.   
This wasn't how this chapter was initially meant to go, but it started going this way, and I just went with it. :) I like it, so I hope you all do too.

“Petey, you have to be quiet. You’ll wake Mister Tony up.” Tony heard hushed voices as he came back to consciousness. He shifted slightly on the bed and instantly the voices stopped.

“Mister Tony?” 

“Hey bug.” Tony smiled as he opened his eyes and felt a small hand grab his. He glanced down to see Peter sitting on the edge of the bed beaming at him, and both May and Pepper sitting in chairs. 

“Hi honey.” Pepper smiled as Tony’s eyes landed on her, and he smiled back. When he had gotten his first good look at Pepper after he had woken up, it had been an emotional time for both of them, both of them having believed that they were going to lose the other one. 

“Hi Mister Tony!” Peter chirped up, and Tony drew his eyes to the 6-year-old. He beamed happily at Tony, and his sweet face made Tony smile involuntarily. 

“Hey kiddo.” 

“Auntie May said I’m going to stay with you and Miss Pepper for a little while.” Peter announced and Tony glanced at May. 

“For a week. I have to go out to California to see Ben, and my job, but Peter would like to stay here. Pepper said it’s okay?” May asked and Tony nodded.

“That is more than okay.”

“I can help you feel better. Mommy said I was good at always making her feel better.” Peter announced and Tony nodded.

“That’ll be great kid.” 

“Hey all.” Happy walked through the door with Ned trailing behind him carrying a backpack.

“Ned!” Peter called out happily as the other boy smiled.

“I bought legos.” Ned motioned to the backpack and Peter pulled his hand away from Tony’s to climb off the bed.

“I see where I stand when it comes to legos.” Tony said jokingly and Peter turned to him, his small face looking guilty. “Oh no Pete, I was kidding.” 

“Before you do that, you need to get something to eat Peter.” May said sternly and Ned halted from where he had put the backpack on the ground, and was already reaching into it. “Happy is going to take you both to get some food.” 

“Okay!” Peter agreed and Ned nodded. 

“Leave the backpack here, we’ll do legos when we get back.” Happy instructed Ned, and Peter turned around to Tony.

“You’ll still be here?” It was a question that Peter had asked every single time he had left the room over the past 5 days. When May had made him go out to go to school the first time, there had been a complete and utter tantrum until Tony had promised Peter that he wouldn’t move, and would be there when Peter came back. 

Peter had come running in after the school day had been done, and had instantly jumped on to the bed and cuddled up next to Tony.

“I’ll definitely still be here kid. I promise.” Tony replied and Peter nodded, before heading out after Ned and Happy. 

As soon as he was gone, May turned to Tony. 

“I’m sorry about asking you to take care of him again. I suggested he come to California to see it as next week is his spring break, but he wanted nothing to do with it, and Pepper suggested you could look after him?”

“You’ll be at the apartment and Peter is old enough to help look after you. I’m going to take some time from work as well- I haven’t taken much time so it got approved already.” Pepper informed Tony. “Peter was very excited that he gets to help you feel better.”

“Tony, I'm really glad you’re okay.” May said more seriously as she stared at Tony. “I don’t think Peter would have been able to cope if you hadn’t survived. I’ve never seen someone react like he did when we got the news.” 

\--

“If you want to go home, you have to try walking with those crutches.” Bruce pointed to the crutches that were sitting beside the bed, as Tony grumbled at him.

“I feel like you didn’t mention this part when you told me that I could go home if I walked.” Tony shot back and Bruce didn’t show any sign of being ashamed.

“Oh didn’t I? My mistake.” Bruce replied as he ignored Tony’s glare. “Well, get on it.”

“You have the worst bedside manner.” Tony grumbled as he crossed his arms stubbornly.

“I thought Steve was a bad patient when he was here, you are even worse Tony.” Bruce groaned

“Am not.”

“Tony.” Bruce crossed his own arms, as he and Tony glared at one another.

The standoff could have continued if it weren’t for the sound of little feet running down the hallway, and then Peter rushed through the door, dropping his backpack as he did so.

“Mister Tony!” Peter called out and then halted when he saw Tony and Bruce starting at one another. Pepper walked in slowly after Peter, halting as she too saw the scene. May had left for California that morning, and Pepper had started her time off from her job. 

“What’s going on here?” Pepper asked, amused.

“Tony needs to walk on the crutches before we can let him out of here.” Bruce replied as Tony continued to glare at him.

“Mister Tony, where is your arm holder?” Peter asked as he noticed that the sling Tony had had on his shoulder was gone. The damage to Tony’s shoulder hadn’t been quite as severe as everyone had thought, and now it was merely severely bruised. When he had taken the painkillers, it minimized the pain considerably. 

“Tony’s arm is getting better, so we could take the sling away.” Bruce replied quickly, and Peter hopped up next to Tony on the bed, careful as always not to jostle him. 

“That’s good Mister Tony.” Peter said, and then noticed that Tony had his arms crossed still. “Why are you pouting?” 

“I am NOT pouting.” Tony sputtered as Pepper and Bruce both laughed. 

“He needs to walk on crutches before we can let him out of the hospital.” Bruce explained, and Peter nudged Tony’s hand.

“I can help you.” Peter offered, and Tony’s heart felt like it melted. This little human was beyond good and kind.

“Come on Tony.” Bruce pushed and Tony sighed, as he started to shuffle himself off the bed. Pepper put out her hand, and Tony hung onto it as he moved. 

As he shuffled, pain ran through his body. He knew the hospital had moved him while he was in the coma, but he had hardly moved himself, and it was painful, even with the painkillers he was on. He grit his teeth as he shifted to the edge, and swung his legs over. His head spun slightly, and he set his hand down on the bed.

“Tony?” Pepper called out worried, and he nodded.

“I’m okay.” 

Bruce moved closer to the bed along with the two nurses who had joined them in the room, and they assisted him in getting on his feet. Tony was handed the crutches, and Pepper let go of his hand so he could get a good grip on the handles of the crutches. 

He grimaced as he stepped up and tucked the crutches under his arms. He put his weight on his good leg and made sure to keep it off the other one as he started moving forward.

“Go Mister Tony!” Peter called out as he jumped off the bed, and reached Tony’s side. He grabbed onto Tony’s side gently and walked with him as they headed out of the room, and into the hallway. 

“Go Mister Tony!” Peter called again as the small group headed down the hallway- Tony and Peter followed by Pepper, Bruce and the two nurses. 

Tony managed to get all the way down the hallway before his body started to truly protest and his good leg started to give out on him.

“Okay and we’re going back.” Bruce announced. He stepped forward with the nurses, and they helped take more of Tony’s weight to get him back to the room. He glanced back to see Pepper and Peter following behind him, Pepper holding onto Peter’s hand as they walked. 

“I can still get out of here tomorrow right?” Tony asked as he was deposited back on his bed, his body happily accepting the soft bed. Peter walked over to him, and started trying to help Bruce push Tony’s legs back onto the bed. His little face was determined even as his small hands didn’t help that much, and it was mostly Bruce pushing Tony onto his back. 

“Yes Tony, you can still get out tomorrow. I don’t think anyone would survive the complaining if I said no.”

“Mommy always said no one likes a complainer.” Peter chirped up from where he was standing by Tony's legs, and all the adults in the room all started laughing in surprise. 

“Oh did she?” Pepper asked as she grinned, and Peter nodded. 

“She said it to Daddy a lot. He never liked it though.” 

Tony lay back against the bed, suddenly exhausted and feeling sweaty. Pepper leaned over him with a cloth and wiped down his face as he closed his eyes. 

“Take a rest Tony.” She said softly to him and he nodded. He felt Peter climb up against him, and Patrick being pressed between the two of them. Tony started to drift off but before he did, he felt Peter’s hand touch his cheek. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think! :)   
I know how many are subscribed to this, and I would love to know why you decided to subscribe and what you are enjoying. :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -  
“I’ll clean up later.” Peter replied abruptly, and Tony smiled to himself. The 6 year old had a serious personality, and constantly surprised him. He watched as Peter finally got to the bottom of his bag and pulled out a stuffed spider which he set next to himself on the couch. Tony watched as he dropped his backpack and turned back to him, before holding the spider out to Tony, who grabbed it from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow all- I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I got so busy, and then I had to take a step back from writing for a little bit.
> 
> On a different note, we are all in a very difficult state of affairs at the moment, no matter where in the world you live. We can all get through this if we work hard to protect ourselves and protect the more vulnerable population, and work hard to keep people safe and protected. It's a tough time for a lot of people, but we can get through this everyone. Keep safe and healthy all.
> 
> I had a hard time with this chapter- I won't lie but I hope you all like it. Please leave comments, and let me know. I'm currently working a lot less hours than I have been, so the next chapter will be up much quicker.

“Can you carry him out of here?” Pepper asked Happy as the group of them helped Tony out of the hospital room. Pepper was referring to Peter who was curled up on Tony’s bed, fast asleep. He had had a surprisingly bad night, keeping himself and Tony up for the majority of the night. Tony himself was sitting up on the bed, Peter’s head resting next to his leg. He would have picked up Peter himself, but his body was still far too sore, and Happy had come to assist them with getting out of the hospital.

Peter had managed to spread out throughout the room with his belongings and there were toys thrown about. Pepper had gathered them all up to put them into Peter’s backpack which she was now carrying.

“Got it.” Happy leaned over the bed and carefully gathered the 6-year-old into his arms, resting Peter’s head onto his shoulder. Peter merely sighed as he was adjusted in Happy’s arms before quieting again. Happy leaned over to grab Patrick with his hand not around Peter’s back.

“Tony?” Pepper asked and Tony stood up. He still had the crutches to deal with, but he had become more adjusted to them since Bruce had forced him up the first time. As he stood up, Pepper grabbed the bag with his belongings, and the four of them headed out of the room, intending to leave the hospital after a very stressed week and a half. Bruce had approved the departure right before he had left for some time off.

“Bye all.” Hope called out as they headed past the nurses desk, and out the hospital. Tony and Pepper waved back to her as they headed out to the car. Happy had already set up Peter’s booster seat and carefully arranged Peter in the car so that he stayed fast asleep in the seat as he buckled him in. Pepper assisted Tony in climbing in next to Peter and set the crutches on the floor next to the two of them. Tony reached over and put a hand on Peter’s head, and the little boy sighed again. 

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Please.” 

Pepper climbed into the front seat while Happy climbed into the passenger seat, and Tony sighed a sigh of relief as they pulled away from the hospital. He wanted to go back to their apartment, and his bed. The hospital beds had nothing on his wonderful bed, and his and Pepper’s apartment. When he had been in the fire, he did not think that he would be going back to the apartment ever, and now he just couldn’t wait to be back there.

He knew Pepper had brought all of the items that he had told her to get rid of back into the apartment and had made sure to get everything set up before they came back. They had wanted Peter to sleep there the night before and he had decided he had none of that. 

-

“We got you a surprise..” Peter told Tony as he raced over to the couch to join Tony on the couch. He threw his backpack on the floor as he jumped to the couch, careful even as he jumped not to bump into Tony’s bad leg. 

“Oh yeah?” Tony asked. He put the book he was reading down on the couch as Peter nodded happily. He pushed back his hood of his head and poked at Tony’ good leg. “What is it?”

“Miss Pepper and I went to the toy store.” Peter reached down away from Tony to pull at his backpack which Tony could see wasn’t zipped. Peter pawed through his bag as he pulled out some papers, and his lunchbox and tossed them to the side. 

“You’re making a mess there bug.” Tony commented as he saw Pepper come around the corner and stand with her arms crossed with a smile on her face.

“I’ll clean up later.” Peter replied abruptly, and Tony smiled to himself. The 6 year old had a serious personality, and constantly surprised him. He watched as Peter finally got to the bottom of his bag and pulled out a stuffed spider which he set next to himself on the couch. Tony watched as he dropped his backpack and turned back to him, before holding the spider out to Tony, who grabbed it from him. 

“You got this with Pepper?” Tony asked and Peter nodded happily. 

“It’s so you won’t forget me.” Peter said simply and Tony’s heart sunk. Peter said it so matter-of-fact but it hurt Tony a lot. It was always in the back of his mind that Peter was going to be leaving, but it still shocked him with how much it hurt when it was reminded. He glanced up to Pepper who gave him a sad smile. 

“Oh bug, I could never forget you.” Tony replied to Peter who beamed back at him.

“Good.” 

“How was school today?” Tony asked as Peter adjusted himself on the couch so that he was cuddled up to Tony. The papers of his backpack were still thrown all over the floor and Peter made no indication to pick them up. 

“Miss Darcy had us doing puzzles.” Peter replied, as he shifted away from Tony to grab Patrick before shifting back against him. 

“Oh yeah? What kind of puzzles?” Tony asked as Pepper came over to join them. She set sliced apples down in front of Peter and he leapt forwards to the table to grab them, and started crunching. 

“Superheroes!” Peter replied between crunches. 

“And the two boys who have been mean to you- are they being nice?” Pepper asked and Peter nodded.

“Miss Darcy makes them be nice.” 

“Good.” 

“Ohh.” Peter suddenly put his apple slices down on the table, and pushed himself off the couch, before he headed to his room. Tony watched amused as he dashed through the door, and then there was a decent sized bang.

“Peter?” Tony called out 

“Nothing!” Peter called back a moment later as there was another slight bang.

“Peter, what are you doing?” 

“Nothing!” The 6-year-old called back again, and Pepper pushed herself up to go and check on the kid. Tony still couldn’t get up without the crutches, and he watched as Pepper disappeared into the room. The two of them came back out a moment later with Peter carrying his Batman action figure and beaming.

“Somebody pulled his box of toys over.” Pepper informed Tony who looked at Peter. The little boy just shrugged as he sat back down next to Tony. 

“I sense a theme here bug.” Tony teased and Peter just giggled.

-

“This was definitely a good idea Happy.” Tony said to the other man as he and Tony sat in the bleachers watching Peter and Ned as they flailed around in the swimming pool below them. Peter had been wanting to see Ned again, and Pepper had reached out to Happy who had said that Ned had swimming lessons on Friday nights, and Peter would be welcome to join. Peter had been uncontrollably excited, and had mentioned that his parents had been teaching him swimming for a while- Tony had no idea what a while meant- but Peter did seem very comfortable in the water. 

“How’s he been? Pepper tells me a few things.” Happy asked Tony as they sat there. Peter dunked his head beneath the water as the instructor informed and popped up grinning a moment later.

“He’s been okay. Pretty attached, but going to school has been easier now.” Tony replied. “He’s resilient for sure.”

“He was devastated when we didn’t think you’d pull through.” Happy responded and Tony nodded.

“I heard that.” 

“Everyone was really glad that you pulled through. I know we don’t know each other that well, but I know Pepper absolutely adores you and the rest of your team all love you. I’ve never seen so many relieved people than when the doctor told us you were going to pull through.” 

“Thanks Happy.” Tony replied as he gave the man a grateful look. Before Peter had come into his life, he had only known Happy through Pepper, and had only met the man a few times. 

“I mean it Tony.”

Tony’s phone rang as he was about to respond, and he pulled it out to see May was calling him. She was due back in the state in a few days so he wasn’t sure why she was calling. 

“Hey May.” He answered as he picked up. There was silence on the other end before May replied.

“Hey Tony.” 

“Everything okay?” Tony asked, and he heard May take a deep breath on the other end. 

“Ben is coming back with me to New York, and we have to talk when we’re back.” May replied, and Tony’s heart dropped. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it’s safe to say that I cannot promise when I will update this thing. I’m so sorry it was so long. With the world how it is, i’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety and writing hasn’t been a huge priority.  
Plus i’m writing for an exchange and Big Bang right now...  
I know a lot of you want a conclusion, so I apologize for this chapter and the ending.

“What do you think they want to talk about?” Pepper asked Tony as the two of them were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Tony was still on the crutches so he was mostly leaning against the wall while Pepper prepared the food.

“I don’t know.” Tony replied. He had been anxious since he had gotten off the phone with May the day before, the woman giving no indication of what she and Ben planned on talking about with Tony. Tony had mentioned to Pepper about the call but not anything to Peter- the little boy had been going on and on about his swimming lesson and how it was the funnest thing he had done in a while and that he wanted to see Ned again soon. Tony didn’t know how logical that was but had left it alone.

“Um-” Pepper started and then hesitated before turning back to the pot of Pasta. 

“Yes?” Tony asked and she turned back around to him.

“Do you think there is any chance that they might be taking him back sooner?” She asked. “I know that’s not what you want or what should happen, but there is that chance. They might not want to keep going back and forth between here and California. I know we are more than happy to have him stay with us but we can’t have him for weeks upon weeks. He needs something much more stable than that.” 

Tony’s heart sank and it must have shown on his face as Pepper moved away from the stove, closer to him before putting her hand on his face.    
“I’m sorry honey, but that is definitely a possibility.”

“I know.” Tony said slowly and Pepper turned back around to the stove. 

“This is almost ready if you want to get Peter.” 

Tony reached over for the crutches so he could head to the spare room. He only needed to be on the crutches for a few more days and then he could be back at the Firehouse. He wasn’t allowed to do any active work for a few more weeks, but he could still be at the House.

“Hey you.” He greeted Peter as he reached the door to the spare room. Peter was lying on his bed playing with Patrick, and Batman. “What are you doing?”

“Playing.” Peter replied. He had Patrick in one hand, and Batman in the other and Tony wondered exactly what he had been doing.

“Playing what?”

“Batman is telling Patrick about superhero-ing, Patrick wants to be a superhero penguin so Batman is teaching him.” 

“Oh really? What’s a superhero penguin do?” Tony asked, incredibly amused by the 6-year-old. 

“They save people of course Mr Tony.” Peter said, sounding so incredulous that Tony had to laugh.

“Of course they do.” He replied, nodding as seriously as he could. “Dinner is ready squirt.”

“Oh yummy!” Peter dropped Batman and leaped off the bed, dragging Patrick along with him. 

“No dinner for Batman?” Tony asked and Peter shook his head. 

“Nope.” Peter shook his head as he squeezed around Tony and hurried to the kitchen. Tony followed at a more sedate pace, navigating the crutches. By the time he got back to the kitchen, Peter was already sitting at the table with a plate in front of him, and a smaller plate in front of Patrick. Tony raised his eyes at Pepper who just smiled and shook her head before she motioned Tony to another plate. 

He sat down next to Peter and started to dig into the pasta. Peter had already started feeding pasta to Patrick, and Tony watched as he muttered things to the penguin before eating his own. 

“Is he getting lots of food so he can be a superhero?” Tony asked Peter, and Peter nodded. 

“Lots and lots.”

\----

“I know I was pretty cryptic on the phone.” May said when Tony opened the door the next day to see her and Ben standing there. Pepper was at work, but Peter and Tony had been working on coloring in the living room. 

“You were indeed.” Tony agreed, as he swung upon the door to usher the two of them into the apartment. 

“Auntie May! Uncle Ben!” Peter called out as he noticed them, his coloring abandoned as he hurried over to give the two adults hugs. Tony swallowed around a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat as he watched the interaction. 

“Hi honey.” May said as she hugged the little boy back. “Have you been good for Mr Tony? Tell me things you’ve been doing.” 

“So good!” Peter pulled away from the hug and began dragging May towards his coloring. She went with him as he chattered away, leaving Ben and Tony standing closer to the door. Tony shut the door and then turned to Ben. 

“I didn’t know you were planning on coming back anytime soon.” Tony said and Ben shook his head. The two of them headed towards the chairs in the dining room, leaving Peter and May in the living room. 

“I wasn’t. May was going to come back by herself, but while we were there, we were informed of some news.” Ben said as he made a face, and Tony grew even more worried.

“News?” He asked and Ben nodded.

“Both our bosses told us we can’t keep missing work, and coming back out here. We need to get back there, and stay there.” Ben explained. “They said that they have been more than accommodating for us due to the circumstances, but that it can’t continue. I came back with May this time so that we can get everything dealt with here, and head back to California permanently.” 

“Oh.” Tony replied, not really knowing what else to say. He glanced over towards the living room to see Peter exuberantly describing something to May, his hands waving around as he stood up on the couch cushion.

“You’re probably wondering about Peter?” Ben asked after a moment and Tony nodded. “We’re taking him with us.”

Tony swallowed hard around the re-emerging lump in his throat as he processed Ben’s words. He knew that Peter would be going, he had been trying to deal with that, and work towards that but actually hearing that he would be leaving months earlier than planned felt like a dagger to the heart. Tears sprung into his eyes and he glanced away from Ben, trying to hide them quickly. He didn’t want the other man to see how upset he was at those words. 

“You okay?” Ben asked, clearly having noticed the emotions that Tony was trying to hide. 

“Yep.”

“I know the two of you have gotten close. May and I have both noticed that, and we are so grateful that you were there for him how you have been. It’s made it so much easier for May and I to get things sorted in California, but we do have a really nice school for him, and some wonderful people to help out with him. May has been really really picky about everything for him, to make sure that it is all the best that we can give him. He’ll have a good life in California Tony. We’re going to make sure of that.” Ben said and Tony could only nod. He knew deep down that Ben & May would look after Peter- for all of their mistakes in the beginning- and that they were good people, but he still didn’t want to have to stay goodbye to the little boy.

“When are you going?” Tony asked quietly.

“Within the week.” Ben replied. “We already chatted to the realtors and the lawyers about Mary and Richard’s assets, and the logistics of getting Peter there. He won’t start school until the Fall as we don’t want to throw him in when the school year is really close to the end already, but he’s signed up for summer camps and some sports.” 

“He does have asthma.” Tony reminded Ben and the other man nodded. 

“We did remember that. When we get there, we’re going to take him to a doctor to understand the full extent of that and what we need to do to help control that.” 

“Mr Tony!” Peter called out and Tony and Ben both jerked around to see the little boy. “May told me I can have Chicken Nuggets tonight!” 

-

“They’re taking him back now?” Steve asked Tony as they both sat at the table at the firehouse. The wind was blowing something fierce outside and the house was incredibly drafty. Tony had his jacket zipped all the way up, and he was still shivering from the drafts. Clint had called off shift due to Lila being sick but the rest of the group were all crowded around the table as they waited on a call. 

“2 days.” Tony replied. He hadn’t seen the little boy since May and Ben had come to collect him from the apartment, but he knew that they were planning on heading back to California in two days time, and that he was going to have to say goodbye to the little boy. May had told him that Peter didn’t seem to fully understand that they wouldn’t be back and that made Tony feel extremely sad. 

“That’s so sudden. Did they think about how that’s going to affect Peter?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah, he’s had so much change lately and now they are going to take him away from here even sooner than expected?” Scott questioned. “Kids are resilient but that’s a lot for a young one.” 

“They don’t have much of a choice I guess.” Tony replied. “Their bosses won’t give them many other options, and they both need to keep their jobs.” 

“So we won’t get to see him here any more?” Bucky asked. “I got used to seeing him every week, he was getting quite good at helping me cook.”

“Buck, he stood on the kitchen counter and tasted what you made. I don’t know if that’s considered cooking.” Steve replied, and Tony smiled slightly. It had been a sight each week to see the little boy in the kitchen, eagerly awaiting his chance to taste everything that Bucky had cooked and give his opinion, an opinion that Bucky had taken very seriously. 

“He gave some good suggestions!” Bucky protested.

“The candy in the pasta suggestion wasn’t my favorite though.” Wanda spoke up. “That was a little bit too sweet for me, and not exactly how pasta should be eaten.”

“But he was so excited about everyone trying that.” Bucky protested again. 

“He’ll be here for next shift.” Tony answered. “He can help you cook then, but after that, he’ll be in California.”

“How are you doing?” Natasha asked and Tony just shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about it, he already knew that he would be having a hard time with the goodbye when it happened. Pepper had already taken off work so she could be at the firehouse to say her own goodbye, and Happy would be bringing Ned as well. 

“I’m really sorry man.” Sam said and Tony just shrugged again. As Steve went to open his mouth to say something, Tony’s phone rang and he pulled it out to see May’s number. 

“It’s May.” He said as he picked the phone up to greet her. Before he could say anything, May spoke.

“Tony, Peter’s missing. He ran out of the apartment a little while ago, and neither Ben nor I can find him.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry!!! The next chapter will absolutely have a resolution though!!
> 
> Also, i have this amazing amazing art by Emkoyah- i’m sure some of you on Tumblr saw it- that I want to attach but am still figuring out how to do that.  
So standby on that.
> 
> I’ll really, really try to get the update up sooner than over a month as we are almost there now, but please let me know what you think of this one.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey.” Sam said from across from Tony and he glanced up at the other man. There was sympathy in his eyes as he smiled slightly at Tony. “We’re going to find him. It’ll be okay.” 
> 
> “He’s only 6 years old.” Tony shot back.
> 
> “I know, but he’s also smart.” Sam answered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone to a police station or another fire station, or shows up at one soon. I told all my contacts to be on the lookout for him. There’s a lot of people involved in this- we’ll find him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh, long time- no update right?  
I am again, so sorry. I didn’t realize just quite how long it has been since I last updated- May just flew by. 
> 
> I don’t love this chapter but here you go. 
> 
> I hope you are all safe and healthy during this period we are all going through. Happy times will come again, hopefully with improvements going forward this time.

“What?” Tony asked as he pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at the phone before putting it back to his ear. He saw Steve look at him with a concerned look on his face.

“I asked him to pack up his items and then left the room for a conference call. When I went back into his room, he was gone. He’s not in the house, and I don’t know where he is.” May replied. She sounded harried to Tony and he tried to take a deep breath. This was New York City, and the kid could be anywhere. 

“How long has he been gone?” Tony asked quickly. 

“I don’t know but the conference call was two hours, so it could be that long? Tony, he doesn’t know this city. I don’t know this city. He could be anywhere.” May replied. 

“Tony?” Steve asked as Tony tried to take more deep breaths. 

“Tony, we need more people out there looking.” May suggested and Tony let out a frustrated groan.

“I’m at work May. I can’t just leave.” Tony snapped back before taking another breath. He wanted to get out there and look for the kid, but he couldn’t just leave the station. Steve pulled himself up from the table and walked out of the room with Bucky following after him. Sam glanced from Tony to the retreating backs of Steve and Bucky, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“I just- I don’t know where he could have gone Tony. Ben and I have been out here driving around but there’s so much traffic and so many people.” May said and Tony sighed again. He was beyond frustrated. The only thing he wanted to do was jump in his car and go searching for the kid, but he couldn’t just leave his men. Peter could be in serious danger- a small child wandering around a huge city by himself. He was angry at the situation, angry that May had let Peter go off by himself, angry that he couldn’t do anything. Unfairly angry at May as she couldn’t have known Peter would take off, but still angry. 

“I don’t know what to say May.” He shot back, aware that he was making no effort to hide the anger in his voice and very aware that May would hear it. “I can’t leave. You need to find him.”

“Tony.” Steve came back into the room, followed by Fury and Bucky 

“May, i’ll call you back.” He hung up the phone before May could respond and threw it down onto the table. The screen hit the table and he could already see that there was a nice crack running down the front. The three men walked towards him as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. His heart was pounding and he could tell his hands were shaking as he turned to his chief. 

“Peter is missing?” Fury asked as soon as Tony faced him, and Tony nodded. 

“Somewhere in the city, they think.” 

“Okay, go out and look for him.” Fury replied and Tony started.

“Wait, what?”

“Go out and look for the kid. Take the rig and go. Steve will keep the radio on if we need you.” Fury told Tony who just nodded.

“Lets go.” Steve called to the rest of the men who jumped up from the table to head to the truck. Nat and Wanda both got up from the table and Tony watched as they headed towards their ambulance before getting in. 

“I’ll be here in case the kid shows up here.” Fury told Tony who nodded. He grabbed his now damaged phone and shoved it into his pocket before he headed to the rig. He gathered up all of his gear before climbing into his seat and shutting the door behind him.

Scott pulled them out of the house and they headed down the street. Tony saw as the ambulance turned the other direction before he felt his phone buzzing and pulled it out of his pocket to see Pepper calling him.

“Hi honey.” He said as he picked it up.

“I just spoke to May. Peter’s missing?” 

“He is. He took off a few hours ago.” Tony replied. He wasn’t aiming to be short with his fiance but he was in a mood.

“Okay, i’m going out with Happy to look. My boss already told us to go.” Pepper replied. Tony could hear Happy’s voice in the background as Pepper spoke. “I know you’re at the house.”

“We are actually out looking.” Tony replied. “We’re on 14th Street right now in the rig.” 

“Oh,” Pepper sounded surprised. “May said you couldn’t leave the firehouse. She’s very upset Tony.” 

“Fury told us to go, we just went out. And I know she is, but that’s not the point right now. Peter is the point right now.” Tony replied. The broken glass on his phone poked his cheek, and he rubbed at it quickly. 

“Honey, I can tell you’re angry and stressed right now. But it’s okay. We’ll find him. You’re out there, May & Ben are looking, and Happy and I are about to go out. I spoke to Thor earlier, and he’s going to go look after he gets off work if we haven’t found him then.I know it’s a big city, but we’ll find him.” Pepper replied. “Happy is talking to Ned’s parents right now to see if they’ve seen him. I’ll let May know you’re looking too.” 

“Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.” Tony shot back. 

“Love you.”

“Love you too.” 

“Hey, Hope has gone out with one of her friends to look too. I know Peter doesn’t know her very well, but she knows what he looks like.” Scott called back to Tony as he hung up the phone and Tony felt surprise tears spring to his eyes. So many people had banded together to look for the 6-year-old, and here he was being rude and short with people.

“Hey.” Sam said from across from Tony and he glanced up at the other man. There was sympathy in his eyes as he smiled slightly at Tony. “We’re going to find him. It’ll be okay.” 

“He’s only 6 years old.” Tony shot back.

“I know, but he’s also smart.” Sam answered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone to a police station or another fire station, or shows up at one soon. I told all my contacts to be on the lookout for him. There’s a lot of people involved in this- we’ll find him.”

-

Tony wasn’t sure how long the group had been out searching by the time his phone rang again. He had been receiving texts every so often from the different people involved, including Thor when he had gotten involved, but no one had seen the little boy as of yet. Tony was very concerned that they wouldn’t be able to find Peter before it got dark, or before they received a call out. 

The phone ringing in his lap caused him to look down to see Pepper calling him. She hadn’t called Tony since their initial call so Tony picked up.

“Pep?”

“We found him!” Pepper’s excited voice and her proclamation made Tony’s heart leap.

“Where?”

“At the police precinct on Sawyer. Happy

knows one of the officers here so they gave him a call.”

“Is he okay?” Tony asked. “Scott, he’s at Sawyer Police precinct.” Tony instructed Scott who nodded, turning left on the next intersection.

“He’s hungry and tired and very upset, but he’s okay. He said he can’t find Patrick.” 

“Oh.” Tony’s heart sank at that. Patrick meant an extreme amount to Peter, and Tony couldn’t imagine how upset the little boy was.

“He was able to tell us the general direction he came, so once you get here, we can go take a look for him.” 

“Okay.” Tony agreed.

“Five minutes Tony.” Scott called out.

Tony relayed the information to Pepper who said she’d be there and then hung up.

Once they reached the station, Tony jumped out as soon as Scott had parked, before he rushed in. Happy was standing by the desk and he motioned his head towards one of the rooms. Tony headed towards it and saw Pepper and Peter sitting in there. The little boy’s face was pale and his eyes were red but he looked up at Tony when he walked through the door.

“Mister Tony!” Peter launched himself off his chair towards Tony who knelt down just in time to receive an armful of the boy.

“Hi bug.” Tony replied as he hugged Peter back. Peter just clung to him and Tony could tell the little boy was crying again. He looked over his head at Pepper who just smiled sadly. 

“Can you look at me kiddo?” Tony asked after a few moments of silence and Peter pulled back from Tony. 

“Hi.” Tony greeted him again. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry I ran away! I’m really sorry.” Peter burst out and Tony reached out to put a hand on his face.

“Hey, it’s okay bug.” He replied. “I mean, it’s not okay but you’re okay now. You were right to come to a police station.” 

“I got scared.”

“Why were you scared bug?” 

“Auntie May said I have to leave. I don’t want to leave. Mommy and Daddy are here. You’re here.” Peter let out another little sob as Tony held his face.

“Oh bug.”

“I don’t want to go somewhere else.”

“I know kiddo, but it could be a good thing.” Tony replied. He knew he couldn’t tell the kid otherwise- Peter needed to know that moving to California could be a good thing. Tony saying anything to the contrary would not be helpful, even if he didn’t mean what he said at all.

“But what if it isn’t? Mommy and Daddy are here.” Peter protested.

“You can always come back to visit them buddy. Your auntie and uncle can let you do that. And see me, and Ned and your friend Thor.” 

“But how do you know that? What if I never see you again?” Peter asked, his little lip trembled again as he looked at Tony. “I lost Patrick. What if I lose you?” 

“Oh honey. We’ll look for Patrick.” Pepper moved over to the two of them. “And you won’t lose us. We’ll talk to you every single day if you want to.”

“Every single day?” Peter asked.

“Every day honey.” Pepper confirmed and Peter’s lip wobbled again. 

“What if Auntie May won’t let me?”

“Oh she will.” May’s voice came from behind Tony and he turned around, Peter still clinging to him.

“Auntie May. I’m sorry!” Peter immediately called out and May shook her head as she walked over.

“I’m sorry Peter. I should have talked to you.” May turned to Tony as she touched Peter’s arm. “I saw your team as I walked in. They got called out but told me to tell you to stay here.” 

“Auntie May, can I talk to Mister Tony and Miss Pepper everyday?” Peter asked and May smiled.

“You absolutely can honey.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all liked this chapter- it’s probably my least favorite honestly. The ending isn’t my favorite...  
Not much to go now. I think it says 16 chapters but I think it’s 17 so going to check on that.
> 
> Also, if anyone is interested- I took part in Irondad Big Bang this year. I wrote a Mini Bang but my posting date is tomorrow. :) It’s an Up Irondad AU and i’m actually really excited about it- if anyone is interested!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I have no explanation for how long it took me to update. Nothing.
> 
> I'm not sure yet if there will be one or two chapters yet to end this out. It shows 1 currently, but it might end up at 2- depending on how I write the next chapter.
> 
> *Later note*: shoutout to the few of you that pointed out Auntie Ben. I cackled. And changed it now.

“Any success?” Tony called out to Pepper who was a few paces ahead of him. 

She turned back around to shake her head and Tony sighed. The walking he was doing was causing slight pain in his leg but finding Patrick was the main priority of the moment. 

Peter had gone back to May’s apartment after he and Tony had talked, and Tony had promised to take a look for Patrick, and May promised McDonalds Chicken Nuggets for dinner. Fury had already told him not to be back at the Station until the next day for everyone to meet up to say goodbye to Peter, so he and Pepper had headed out right away, on a route that they thought Peter might have taken between May’s apartment and the police station. There was one main route that didn’t involve a major highway that they decided to take a look at. Happy had already volunteered to go and find another penguin if they couldn’t find Patrick, not that another penguin would really replace Patrick for Peter.

Tony knew Peter would be devastated if he had to leave New York without Patrick, and it was due to rain so Patrick couldn’t be left outside much longer. Pepper had left her car parked at the police station for them to go and look. They were checking all along the path and roads to see where Peter could have dropped the penguin.Tony could only hope that someone hadn’t decided they liked the look of the toy.

“Here!” Pepper suddenly called back as she darted to the left and bent down. Tony walked over to her to see her straighten back up with the penguin in her hands. As Tony got closer, he could see that the penguin was dripping wet and Pepper held it with only her fingertips.

“He managed to drop it straight into a puddle.” Pepper laughed lightly as the penguin dripped water onto the ground. “Text May and tell her we found him.”

The two of them turned around to head back to the car while Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket to text May, not surprised to see a text from her. 

_ May 4:50pm Any luck? _

_ Tony 5:45pm Just found him. Peter dropped him in a puddle but Pepper will put him in the wash, and we’ll have him tomorrow. How’s Pete? _

_ May 5:47pm Oh that’s so good to hear. Thank you for finding him. Peter ate his nuggets and fell fast asleep in the car. He’s tucked into bed now. _

_ Tony 5:48pm Did he talk anymore about being upset about leaving? _

_ May 5:49pm Just ate his nuggets and fell asleep. Thank you again, we’ll see you tomorrow. _

Tony sighed as he put his phone back into his pocket and looked at Pepper. She smiled at him slightly and grabbed his hand with her free hand.

“It’ll be okay honey.” She said as she squeezed Tony’s hand and he nodded as he took a deep breath. 

“This is disgusting.” Pepper remarked as she held onto Patrick and Tony huffed out a laugh. Trust Peter to successfully drop the toy directly into a random puddle rather than onto the otherwise dry path.

-

“Why do you have a toy truck?” Clint asked as Scott walked through the door of the firehouse, and Tony looked up to see the man headed towards them. The team wasn’t technically on call, but thought that the firehouse would be the best place to say goodbye to Peter as he left. The little boy had become a fixture and a favorite around the house that people wanted it to be there to say bye to him, Thor included. The man was standing near one of the firetrucks listening to Steve as he explained some of the truck's uses. 

“Because I want Peter to remember us, and the house.” Scott replied as he set the fire truck down on the table. 

“I don’t think he could forget us Scott.” Bucky replied from the other end of the table.

“He might. He’s only 6 so he could definitely forget.” Scott argued back and Sam shook his head.

“There’s no way that kid will forget Tony. Besides, i’m pretty sure his first trip back here is probably already being planned.” Sam answered as Tony nodded his agreement.

He hadn’t said anything but he would definitely make himself available for whenever Peter wanted to come back to visit, he would open his whole schedule to ensure that he could see Peter as many times as he could. He was already well aware that into the future that Peter would probably not want to come back as often, or talk to Tony as often, so he was preparing to take advantage of Peter’s willingness as long as possible. 

“The kid here yet?” Tony looked up again to the door as Happy walked in with Ned following closely behind.

Ned looked sad and Tony felt his heart clench again, at the 7 year olds little sad face. He was sure that Peter would make some new friends where he was going with his friendly little self but he was still sad that Ned was another person Peter would have to say goodbye to. 

“Not yet. May said a few minutes, Peter didn’t want to come to say goodbye so it took a little while.” Tony replied.

He had been texting with May all morning, the woman had told him that Peter had been having a very hard morning and was very upset. The only thing that had even slightly lightened his upset had been the news that Patrick had been found and was waiting for him at the firehouse. Pepper had given the penguin a good cleaning and had even attached a little bow on the front, and it looked as good as new for having been dropped into water for a second time. 

The door to the house opened for a third time and Tony glanced back over to see May coming in with Peter. The 6 year old was clutching tightly onto May’s hand and his eyes were all red. 

“Hi sweetie.” Pepper called out and Peter looked over to her. She held out Patrick and Peter let go of May’s hand to come forward to grab a hold of Patrick. Pepper put a hand up to Peter’s face and lightly stroked his cheek to wipe away the tear remnants and the little boy smiled slightly at her. 

“Thank you for finding Patrick Miss Pepper.” Peter said softly and Pepper smiled.

“Of course darling boy.”

“We got you a toy truck to remember us Peter.” Scott called out as he held the toy truck out for Peter to see. The boy moved away from Pepper towards the table, and Tony noticed that Peter didn’t look over at him as he grabbed the toy with his free hand.

“Thank you Mister Scott.” Peter said and Scott smiled.

“Of course Peter. We’re going to miss you buddy.” 

“Peter.” Tony said and the little boy finally turned to him, and Tony watched as his little face crumbled. 

“Oh bud.” Tony’s heart sank for what felt about the hundredth time. 

“Hi Mister Tony.” 

“Can I have a hug?” Tony asked as he swung in his chair and held his arms out for Peter. The little boy set down both the firetruck and Patrick and headed over to Tony. He put his arms around Tony who hugged him back tightly. The little boy trembled in Tony’s arms and he sighed.

“Oh kiddo.” 

“Hey Pete, can I talk to Mister Tony and Miss Pepper for a moment?” May’s voice cut through the hug and Peter pulled back.

“Do you want to go with me and Ned and go play with Viz?” Sam asked and Peter nodded. Tony watched as he headed towards Sam and the other little boy, as he grabbed Patrick on the way. Sam led the two little boys out of the room towards the other room where Viz currently was, and Bucky followed after them.

“What did you want to talk about May?” Pepper sat down next to Tony as the man hurriedly wiped at his eyes. May sat down across from them, and pulled a folder out of her bag. She set it down on the table before pushing it towards the two of them.

“What is this?” Tony asked. Pepper pulled the file towards them, and opened it up before she glanced at Tony and then back at May.

“May…” Pepper started and May interrupted her.

“You can say no. But Ben & I have been talking about it, and yesterday just helped finalize the decision.” May started, and Tony knew almost immediately what she was talking about. He reached over and Pepper pushed the files towards him. Tony glanced down to see the files in the folder- petition for guardianship.

“May.” Pepper said and May stopped talking. “Are you sure about this?”

“We are. Ben signed the papers before he went back to California last time and we officially agreed last night. Peter loves New York, he loves his life here. We can’t take him away from her and throw him into a completely new life. He loves you and Pepper and being here at the firehouse. Plus, his parents are buried here. It isn’t fair of Ben or I to take him away.” 

“Did you think this from the beginning?” Pepper asked as Tony continued to look at the papers and May shook her head.

“Like I said, Ben signed before he went back to California last time. We’ve been thinking about it for a while, but we weren’t sure that we could ask this of you.” May replied. 

“Tony?” Pepper asked and Tony looked up from the papers. 

“You can say no Tony. There is no requirement here. It’s shared guardianship, we will have it too but just as his aunt and uncle and only in drastic situations. Otherwise, it’s you and Pepper. We know you don’t have the most secure job, but Pepper’s is secure and enough for the courts. We haven’t said anything to Peter yet, that’s why I didn’t want him hearing this.” May explained.

Tony glanced at Pepper who nodded. 

“Yes.” Tony answered May, nodding to affirm his decision. “Yes.”

“Yes!” Steve suddenly shouted out and everyone else laughed, Tony included. The laugh felt like a weight lifted off his chest.

“Peter will have everyone here too if needed.” Scott shot out and Tony glanced around to see the rest of the men assembled nodding their heads. 

May pointed out where Pepper and Tony needed to sign and once they did that, she put the folder back in her purse.

“I delayed my going back to California for a few days to ensure that everything is taken care of with the courts. But I don’t think there will be a problem with anything.” May smiled brightly and Tony smiled back at her. 

“I’ll go get the kids back.” Happy announced as he walked out of the room, heading towards where Sam and Bucky had taken them.

“We’re going to be parents.” Pepper whispered to Tony who smiled at her. 

He didn’t understand how he felt. Peter was going to be his. He wasn’t going to have to say goodbye to the little boy who had taken over his heart, and who he had hoped to see when he came for a trip. He was going to get to see the little boy grow up, and see him excel. 

“Mister Tony?” Peter walked back through the door with Sam and he glanced over at Tony who couldn’t help but smile at him. “Auntie May?”

“Come here sweetheart.” May motioned to Peter who walked over to her hesitantly. She pulled him up onto her lap and Peter set his hands on the table.

“Would you like to stay in New York honey?” May asked Peter who glanced between the three adults at the table. 

“Stay?” Peter asked and May nodded. 

“Would you like to stay with Mister Tony and Miss Pepper?” May asked and Tony watched Peter turn himself around to look at the woman. 

“You don’t want me? Was I bad?” Peter asked and May shook her head.

“No no honey. Absolutely not. But we think it’ll be better for you to stay here with Mister Tony and Miss Pepper. Would you like that?” May asked.

“Do I have to go back to my school?” Peter asked and Tony instantly shook his head.

“No Pete. We can have you go to the same school as Ned goes to. It’s in our district so we can send you there.” Tony replied. “You and Ned will be in the same class.”

“Can I still talk to you and Uncle Ben?” Peter asked May who nodded.

“Of course darling. We’ll talk to you everyday if you want to.” May replied. “We would never abandon you honey. This is just a better thing for you. Mister Tony and Miss Pepper love you just as much as Ben and I do, and want to take care of you. Does that sound okay?”

“Okay.” Peter replied.

“Yeah?” Tony asked and Peter turned back around to him.

“I get to stay with you and Miss Pepper.” Peter stated and Tony nodded.

“You do buddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally right?! Only took me 15 chapters to get to this point...


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tony, he already has a room full of things at your place. You don’t need all of these extra toys.” Rhodey put his phone down as he glanced at Tony. Tony had dragged him through multiple stores and the two of them were carrying multiple bags. Rhodey had put his foot down when Tony had tried to buy a life-size penguin but had otherwise just let Tony do his thing. 
> 
> “Excuse me, don’t think I don’t see that extra bag of legos there Rhodey.” Tony shot back as he put down the box he had in his hands. 
> 
> “He’s my new nephew. I had to buy him some toys myself. I need to be the cool uncle.” Rhodey answered. “Besides, Pepper didn’t tell me I had to reign it in. Only you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we go, the final chapter.  
I can only apologize for how long this has taken. I won't go into detail but I have had some health issues these last few months (lovely to have issues during a pandemic) and it's been a lot. A lot of days I haven't felt up to much so writing was completely out of the question.  
But here you go, hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> Thank you all for the support and comments throughout this story- it has 100% been the story that has given me the most response and feedback and love.   
I'm not entirely sure i'm ready to leave this AU just yet, so there might be more in the future- but not anytime in the near future. Not this year at least.

“Tony, he already has a room full of things at your place. You don’t need all of these extra toys.” Rhodey put his phone down as he glanced at Tony. Tony had dragged him through multiple stores and the two of them were carrying multiple bags. Rhodey had put his foot down when Tony had tried to buy a life-size penguin but had otherwise just let Tony do his thing. The years of friendship the two had shared had shown that Tony was going to do what Tony wanted to do, and getting the apartment set up for Peter to stay permanently was something that Tony was absolutely going to go overboard on.

“Excuse me, don’t think I don’t see that extra bag of legos there Rhodey.” Tony shot back as he put down the box he had in his hands. 

“He’s my new nephew. I had to buy him some toys myself. I need to be the cool uncle.” Rhodey answered. Tony was really glad that Rhodey had been able to get some leave time and could come and spend some time with Tony and Pepper and now Peter as well. The little boy was going to be moving into the apartment the next day, and Tony knew he was going to be exceptionally spoiled with gifts when he showed up. The firemen had already given Tony two bags of things from all of them, and he hadn’t had the chance to go through them to see everything that was in there. “Besides,Pepper didn’t tell me I had to reign it in. Only you.”

“Ha.” Tony picked up another box, noting that it was play-doh and threw it in the cart as he thought Peter might enjoy that. Among other things, the cart also had a science kit as well as a firehouse lego set that Tony had been beyond delighted to find. “She got Peter three fleece blankets yesterday because they had animals on them that she thought were cute. He doesn’t need that many at all.” 

“The two of you are hopeless.” Rhodey snorted as he pulled the play-doh box back out to take a look at it. “This box has 20 different colors in it Tony. I didn’t even know play-doh came in that many colors.” 

“He’ll love it.” Tony said decidedly. He knew he was going over the top but the little boy had been through so much lately and he deserved much better going forward. May had told him she had gotten him some clothes and a few other items but besides what Tony and Pepper had gotten, Peter didn’t have much as he had lost it all in the fire. 

“Did you see the gift Thor gave Pepper to give him?” Tony asked a few moments later as he glanced back at his best friend, who shook his head. “He had some pictures of Peter with his parents so he got them framed so that Peter would have some reminders of his parents. They were going to share the pictures with Peter when May dropped him off the next day. Tony was a little nervous to see how Peter would respond, but if he responded favorably, they already had some spaces on Peter’s walls blocked off for them. 

“Oh wow.” Rhodey replied.

“I thought Pepper was going to cry when he gave them to her.” Tony smiled. The pictures ranged from a baby Peter to just last year and Thor had told them he had more than he had framed. Thor had explained that he knew a professional scrapbooker who had agreed to make a book for the Parkers and he had the pictures ready to send off to his friend. 

-

“Are you serious right now Steve? We don’t have the room in the apartment for all this.” Tony said as he opened the apartment door to see Steve, Scott, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Natasha and Clint all standing there. All seven had their arms full and Tony could smell various smells coming from their arms.

“We wanted to come and greet Peter as he moves here.” Clint answered as he pushed through the door and past Tony. Tony sighed and stepped back from the door to let the rest of the group in. The noise in the apartment exploded as they all reached the kitchen and Pepper and Rhodey greeted them all.

Tony shut the door and followed them all in, seeing the numerous new food containers on the container, surrounding the lasagna that Pepper had already made. 

“I guess i’ll text May and give her a heads up then.” Pepper smiled at Tony who just shook his head as he smiled. 

“You didn’t even look through the bags yet?” Wanda chirped up from the living room and Tony turned around to her. She was standing by the bags that the firehouse had given to Tony, and the man noticed that there were now three more bags surrounding her. 

“He’s been busy buying his own things for Peter.” Rhodey chimed in and Tony whirled around to glare at his friend, who just laughed. 

“I know Scott brought some under the bed storage containers. He said he learned from Cassie.” Wanda spoke up. 

“Storage Containers with kids are a savior.” Scott called out from the kitchen in response to the conversation. “We use so many with Cassie.”

“This is a lot of food.” Tony heard Sam say and he headed back towards the kitchen, leaving Wanda and Rhodey in the living room to sort through the bags. Pepper had sorted the food along the counter, and now switched off stovetop and Tony agreed with Sam’s assessment. There was Pepper’s lasagna but also a wide assortment of appetizers, other entrees and a few desserts. 

“Good thing there’s a whole lot of us to eat it then.” Bucky replied. “When does the kid get here?”

“May said they were just pulling up outside when I texted her so I imagine any moment.” Pepper was barely done speaking when there was a knock on the door. Tony went to answer the door and saw May and Peter standing on the other side.

“Mr Tony!” Peter cried out and Tony knelt down to give the kid a hug. His kid. Patrick dug into his back as Peter hugged him tightly and then let go.    
“I have to say hi to Miss Pepper!” Peter cried out as he pushed past Tony and into the apartment. Tony stood up to greet May and heard Peter’s surprised cry a moment later when he saw the whole group.

“I feel like this is very inadequate.” May smiled as she held out the pie in her one hand to Tony. He took it from her and set it on the table near the door before reaching to help May with the bags she was carrying. It was only two duffel bags and Peter’s backpack and he tucked them to the side of the hallway to take to Peter’s room later, grabbed the pie and ushered May into the apartment.

“It’s great May. This group eats a lot.” Tony smiled as the two of them walked into the kitchen. A chorus of hello’s hit them almost immediately and Tony saw May smile at all of them. He set the pie down on the counter and then turned around to see where Peter had gotten to. The little boy was already sat on the couch between Rhodey and Wanda and Tony could see a lego set in his hands. Sam and Steve were sitting on the other couch as they looked at Peter.

“I see you already got into the toys.” Tony said as he headed over to the small group assembled.

“Mr Tony! Mr Jim said these are all for me.” Peter gasped and Tony couldn’t help but laugh. 

“They are indeed buddy.” 

“Wow.” Peter exclaimed and Tony laughed again. He loved this kid so much. 

The dinner ended up going well until May announced that she was going to leave, and Peter got upset. May, Peter and Tony ended up going into Peter’s bedroom so they could have a proper goodbye. Tony sat on Peter’s chair while the other two sat on the bed. 

“It’s not goodbye forever honey.” May told Peter as he sniffled and played with Patrick’s fur. 

“I can still call you right?” Peter asked and May nodded.

“It’s a three hour time difference but you can call whenever you want to. If you want to. But honey, I don’t think you’ll call that much. You have Tony and Pepper and all of the Firehouse as well as Ned and any other friends you’ll make.” May said softly and Peter sniffled again. 

“You aren’t leaving because I was bad right?”

“Oh of course not honey. But Ben and I live in California and you need to stay in New York City. But you can come and visit us next summer if you want to, and we will talk as much as you want.” 

“I can come visit you?”

“Of course you can Pete. We’ll be happy to have you and Tony and Pepper. We can see everything California has to offer, and we can go to Disneyland.” May replied. 

“Okay. I’ll miss you though.” Peter offered and May smiled.

“I’ll miss you too, but Miss Pepper and Mr Tony are going to give you a wonderful life here, and will take great care of you. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to go now as I have to be at the airport very early so this is just goodbye for now.” May opened her arms and Peter dived right into them to hug her back. “Oof.” 

“Sorry.” Peter whispered and May shook her head.

“I’ll miss my Peter hugs. Okay, so goodbye for now.” May pulled back and pulled herself off the bed. Tony got up to follow and May shook her head, motioning him towards Peter who was sniffling more. “I’ll catch Pepper on my way out.” 

Tony sat himself on the bed where May had been sitting as the woman exited Peter’s room, shutting the door behind her as she went. Tony could just hear the voices in the living room, and could hear Pepper’s above the rest.

“Mr Tony?” Peter asked and Tony glanced down.

“Yeah bug?”

“I’m going to miss Auntie May but i’m really glad to be here.”

“We’re glad you’re here too bug.” 

-

“That was the best day!” Peter cried out as he rushed towards Tony, his backpack smacking his back as he ran. Patrick was in one hand and a bunch of papers were clenched in the other. As Peter reached the car, Tony carefully took the papers away from Peter, wary of them flying away in the wind.

“Was it?” Tony asked and Peter nodded as he opened the car door and scooted in with Tony’s help.

“I like my teacher and Ned is in my class. We painted our favorite animals so I painted a spider and Ned doesn’t like spiders so he painted a dog. He has a dog called Fluffy and she is SO cute. He invited me over to his house to play soon. Can I go?” Peter asked as Tony buckled him in and Tony laughed. This was only the first day of class at Peter’s new school and Tony already could tell it was a good decision. Peter had painstakingly packed his backpack the night before ready and Tony anticipated the same thing happening that night. He glanced up to see Ned walking much more calmly over to his mom and he waved at Mrs. Leeds, who waved right back. He would have to set up a playdate with the two of them soon. 

He laughed to himself at that thought- this was his life now. Scheduling his life around work, Pepper’s work and Peter’s life. His school, homework and playdates as well as whatever sports and activities Peter showed interest in. He couldn’t be happier.

“Can we get a dog?”

“No.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They 100% get a dog soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously Tony is kind of OOC here, but that's okay since it's an AU!!


End file.
